


It’s Not All About You

by Kimcholeeee



Category: Bangtan Boys, bangtan sonyeondan, bts, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst, Confessions, Cute, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship/Love, I suck at tags, Jungkook/iu - Freeform, Kissing, Love, Love Triangle, Mentions of Smut, Multi, One-Sided Love, Romance, Sexual References, Truth or Dare, bad boy, bts - Freeform, jeon jungkook - Freeform, kooku, maybe smut idk, namjin - Freeform, yoonmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-01-12 01:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 40,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18436658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimcholeeee/pseuds/Kimcholeeee
Summary: “You’re an idiot, Jeon Jungkook. It’s not all about you.”~Lee Jieun, IU**BTS is collaborating with DJ Khaled but DJ Khaled brings IU into the equation. Here’s a tiny excerpt:"So who's the other singer?" I ask."Here," he says and taps something on his phone and shows the nearest member next to him, which was Hobi hyung. Suga hyung then nods approvingly when he’s the next to be shown."Well, who is it, hyung?" Jimin asks, a small smile displaying on his lips, Suga hyung snaps his attention to Jimin hyung and he looks at me and back at him. Who the hell is it?Jimin hyung gasps, covering his mouth. Jin hyung has had enough and walks over to Khaled who was laughing and takes a look at his phone. His eyes widen. "Oh my God, Jungkookie." He breathes out my name and I give him a look. "Me?""Her name's Lee Ji Eun otherwise known as IU, you guys know her?" Khaled says, raising his brows.My jaw drops.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, uh, it’s my first time posting here😂 Please don’t kill me. This story is actually from my wattpad account but I figured I’d like to post it here too. Enjoy!😂

**J.JK**

 

"Kookie~ah," Jin hyung says with a teasing tone. I roll my eyes before swinging my head to look at his direction. Clearly annoyed. "What?"

 

"Isn't that Lee Jieun, IU?" He says with a cheeky smile, pointing his weird finger to my right. Almost on instinct I look at where he is pointing. It's IU sunbae-nim, sitting down on a bench wearing earphones, scribbling down on her little blue notebook. Her hair was down and whipping around on the wind but she didn't care. She was writing. She was wearing a white dress with white sneakers and a denim jacket. _She looked so pretty._

 

I quickly snap my head in another direction, cheeks burning up. Jin hyung coos beside me, "Oooooo, Kookie has a crush." He pokes his finger on my cheek causing me to groan and slap his finger away.

 

"Hyung, stop it." I plug in my earphones and start listening to our new song 'Fake Love'. I look through the pictures of Jimin hyung that I had taken for him yesterday and started editing. I bit my lip when the song ended and switched to IU's song 'Palette'. A quick glance at Jin hyung tells me that he is texting. Probably Namjoon hyung. I take that as my chance to sneak a glance at her again.

 

I couldn't stop the smile that tugged on my lips when I see her biting her pen, eyebrows furrowed and looking frustrated and stuck. She scribbles down something before cursing under her breath and tearing the page off. She places the crumpled ball of paper on the space beside her. She closes her eyes and tilts her head backwards, puffing out her cheeks and then releasing a breath of air. She looked so cute when she was ticked off.

 

I took another glance at hyung. He was still tapping away on his phone, smiling a bit. Yup, definitely talking to Namjoon hyung. I turn my gaze back on Jieun sunbae-nim and turn up the volume of her song on playing in my ears. Now, she's back to scribbling on her notebook, taking a quick sip from her almost empty water bottle.

 

I close my eyes for a bit. We were in the park. I was just lounging around in my room, music blasting from my speakers when Jin hyung burst in my room, unplugging my speakers without bothering to give me a heads up. He tells me to go to the park with him, I ask him to bring Jimin hyung instead but he shakes his head at me and forces me into wearing a coat and shoes. Here we are. I certainly don't regret coming with him now.

 

I open my eyes and she's ripping another piece of paper out of her notebook and crumpling it, once again setting it down beside the other ball of paper. She ties her hair in a braid before she goes back to writing but then someone calls her name. She looks up. I can see her face perfectly now, she looked good. _She always does._

 

She's stuffing her notebook and pen in her bag in a hurry. She's walking away fast but the wind catches in her hair and detangles it from her braid. Her hair tie tumbles to the ground and she's about to pick it up but the person from a while ago calls her name again. She doesn't advance for her hair tie and walks towards her friend and into a car instead.

 

I slump back on the bench as I watch the car disappear form my view. I pull out my ear phones and fight so hard to make the blush staining my cheeks disappear because Jin hyung is looking at me, trying hard not to laugh.

 

"W-what?" I ask, my eyes blown wide at him.

 

"You were looking at Lee Jieun. You thought I didn't notice but I did and now I have a picture of your love struck face." He doesn't hold back his windshield-wiper laugh, shoulders bobbing up and down.

 

"Yah, stop it," I groan and lean my elbows on my knees.  My eyes snag to her forgotten hair tie still lying on the ground.

 

"Come on, Kookie. We need to get home, I'm going to cook some squid," Jin hyung says and starts walking towards the car.

 

"Yeah, just give me a second." I call out to him and quickly snatch the abandoned hair tie from the ground. I stuff it in my pocket and follow hyung to the car.

 

As soon as I sit down and hyung's talking to the driver, I take out the plain black hair tie.

 

_Was I supposed to return it? What if she thinks I'm some weirdo who watched her from across the park?_

__

_**IU sunbae-nim, what are you doing to me?** _


	2. Chapter 2

**J.JK**

 

"Yah! What's this noise all about?" Yoongi hyung asks, walking into the living room with a frown.

 

"Jin hyung says that Kookie was staring at IU sunbae-nim at the park today," Jimin hyung smiles excitedly at Yoongi hyung, his eyes turning into tiny crescent moons. Instantly, Yoongi hyung's frown disappears and turns into a gummy smile directed at Jimin hyung. _Is it just me or is there something there that I didn't see before?_

 

I just roll my eyes at them and continue doing push-ups. "I even took a picture. Look." Jin hyung laughs evily and beckons Yoongi and Jimin hyung over to let them see the picture. They both quickly walk over to Jin hyung and Jimin hyung squeals. Yoongi hyung just smiles with a small laugh. I get up from the floor and launch myself on the couch.

 

I groan, irritated. "Hyungs stop it."

 

"Our baby is growing up," Namjoon hyung drawls, walking into the room and rubbing circles on Jin hyung's back. Jin hyung's face turns a slight tinge of pink.

 

_The Namjin ship is sailing._

 

"Oh, would you two just date already?" Tae hyung teases with a laugh, sitting down next to me on our couch.

 

Jin hyung turns a brighter shade of red and begins twiddling his fingers together. Namjoon hyung lets out a small laugh and looks down shyly.

 

"Aigooo, these two," Hobi hyung chuckles, patting Namjoon hyung on the back and looks at me and says, "you should ask her out, Kookie."

 

Now it's my turn to blush. "N-no way! She's not my type," I say defensively, turning away from my persistent hyungs.

 

"Oh come on, we all know you like her. Don't even try to deny it. You always stay to watch her performances at award shows. You listen to her music all the time too," Hobi hyung gives me a look as if to say 'do you think we're stupid?'.

 

"And also, you had her picture as a wallpaper on your phone," Tae hyung adds.

 

"Fine," I give in and put my hands up in surrender. "I like her, okay? So can we please just forget about it?" I plead and rake my hand through my hair in frustration.

 

"Kookie," Jin hyung touches my shoulder comfortingly, "why do you think it's a bad thing?"

 

"It's nothing!" I say, exasperated. They all give me a look. "Alright, maybe it's because I know I don't have a chance with her. _Ever_." I bounce my knee uncomfortably, looking down at the ground.

 

"Kookie~ah, you'll always have a chance if you're just willing to reach out and take it," Suga hyung says and drags the hyungs out to give me some space.

_Do I? Could I?_

 

I rub my face and lay back on the sofa. Jieun sunbae-nim has been someone I liked for a while now. She was inspiring, her songs were great. And I loved listening to her sweet voice. She is funny and cute. She is a little bit older than me but don't people keep saying that age doesn't matter? Don't people fall in love with personalities and not ages and appearances? I don't love her though, I don't know her well enough for that and besides, I've already accepted the facts.

 

_I won't have a chance. She's too far for me to reach._


	3. Chapter 3

**J.JK**

 

Jin hyung wakes me up in the most annoying and horrible way possible. The only way he knows how to wake me. He pinches my nipples. He's telling me to get up and shower because we need to get to the Big Hit building for some discussions and of course, practice. When he leaves the room I go back to sleep.

 

This time, it wasn't Jin hyung who woke me up. Hobi hyung was tickling me under my chin and starts singing this weird tune and he's pointing a camera right at me. I groan for the nth time and put my hand against the camera lens, blocking the view of my face. Hobi hyung laughs loudly and says before exiting the room, "We're leaving in 15 minutes, Jin hyung is on his way up here as we speak. He's coming to check if you're awake."

 

My eyes widen into saucers and I launch myself into the shower not caring if the heater hadn't turned on. I did _not_ want to see Jin hyung's angry face today. I bathed in ice cold water. I bolted into my closet in nothing but a towel tied around my waist. I put on my black boxer briefs, socks, black ripped jeans, a white shirt and my Timberlands. I sprayed a little cologne, grabbed my phone and headed out into the living room.

 

Jin hyung looks at me, startled. "I was just coming to get you."

 

I'm trying to steady my breath as I say, "Yeah, I'm here now." The other hyungs are laughing at me quietly. They know how much I hate being nagged at by Jin hyung.

 

"Come on guys, the van is here," RM hyung calls to us from where he just opened the front door. We all get in he van. The car ride was composed of Namjoon and Suga hyung discussing something about a new part of Cypher, Jin hyung checking out his face from his phone, Hobi and Tae hyung were talking about some game while Jimin talked to me about some other boy idol group.

 

When we arrive, we get into a conference room with Bang PD-nim. He's sitting down on a chair and talking to someone on his phone. I bow before sitting down and so do the others. After about a minute when we all sat down he ends his call and looks at all of us, hands folded together on the table.

 

"So what's up?" I ask, breaking the silence.

 

He laughs before saying, "You all probably already know that you're doing great especially since you dropped 'Tear'."

 

Before he could continue, Taehyung is already whooping and clapping his hands. Suga shushes him even though he was smiling. Clearly happy and proud.

 

"As I was saying, although you guys have done great, the investors and your fans want to see another collab," he elaborates.

 

"Another collab? With who?" Namjoon hyung asks, leaning on the table, eyebrows furrowed in deep thinking.

 

"Another collab, yes. I'm going to dismiss you guys for now, I'll call you in again when I get some possible singers that you could collab with," he gives us a smile and opens the door for us. Namjoon hyung stays behind to say a few words.

 

We all proceed to the practice room and on the way Jimin hyung's trying to make Tae hyung laugh with only his face. When he doesn't succeed I take that as my chance to do what he wanted to do. I pull out my most funny face and Taehyung bursts into a fit of laughter. Hobi, Jin and Jimin hyung joining in.

 

When we get to the practice room, we practice our Fake Love choreo a couple of times. And we dance to some of our old songs as a throwback. When we take a break I check on our Twitter news feed on my phone and I happen to come across a picture of IU sunbae-nim. She's staring right at the camera, she's biting into something. Her hair is put up in a bun on the very top of her head. She looks so cute and beautiful. Her dark brown eyes are sparkling, and she's _blooming_.

 

I lose my grip on my phone when I hear not-so-quiet whispers from my left. I look up to find Jin hyung who is laughing and shaking Jimin hyung who is covering his big smile with his tiny hand.

 

"What's so funny?" I play dumb.

 

"You're looking at a picture of IU, that's what," Jin hyung teases, shoving my shoulder.

 

"Aish! Jin, that hurts," I frown at him, rubbing my shoulder.

 

His smile disappears. "Who are you calling Jin? I'm your _hyung_ you brat," he grumbles and walks away.

 

I take one last look at her picture and turn off my phone to get back to practicing.


	4. Chapter 4

**J.JK**

 

"They're saying that we could be collaborating with Shinee's Taemin, or Shawn Mendez," RM says after seeing me look at Bang PD-nim talking to some of the staff.

 

"Taemin hyung?" His name just grabs my attention. I never even thought of having a collab with him and that he actually was interested with us in that way.

 

"Yeah, a little unexpected, right?" He laughs and pats my back. I tilt my head to the side and stick my tongue against the inside of my cheek. Who would be the best to collab with right now? I guess Shawn is good. But what about DJ Khaled?

 

"Hyung," I rest my arm over Jhope's shoulders after walking over to him in long strides.

 

"Mm?" He asks, holding the end of my arm and looking at me expectantly.

 

"It's about the collab," I say, pretending to look like I'm thinking really hard. His eyes widen slightly and he pulls me closer. "You have someone in mind? The staff is frantic."

 

"What about DJ Khaled?" I suggest, biting my lip. I wasn't all too sure that they would even think about my idea.

 

He looks down with his brows scrunched together. It takes a while before he says, "You know, that could actually work." He smiles and thanks me, patting my back.

 

"I'll go tell Bang PD-nim," he says excitedly and ducking out of my arm.

 

I wonder if they'll actually take my idea. DJ Khaled was friendly with us, he makes great music and we would be able to reach out to his fans that don't know us yet and show them who we are and our voices. It could be a booster for us and it would also widen Khaled's range of international fans.

 

Everyone's taking a break. I sit down and lean against the mirror wall. I plug in my earphones and put 'Through the Night' by IU sunbae-nim on repeat. Her beautiful voice invades my mind and I let myself relax and breathe deeply.

 

I close my eyes and mouth the words of the song. Eventually I start to sing to it even though I can't hear myself through the volume of the song in my ears. Hopefully I'm in tune and nobody's going to notice me repeatedly singing the same song.

 

My mind wandered to all the videos I had watched of her being clumsy, funny, cute, and fantastic. I remembered all the times I sat behind her during award shows and I would stare at the back of her head silently praying no one would notice. The moments when I would avoid being close to her because I was always so shy. And of course, all the times when she would dominate the stage with her soft yet powerful voice.

 

_She truly is someone I can't stop thinking about._


	5. Chapter 5

**J.JK**

 

I'm slurping in my noodles. Taking some boiled meat and shoving it into my mouth with the chopsticks. We were all at home, given the day off. Jin hyung cooked for us and now we're all eating. Namjoon hyung's phone rings but he ignores it and keeps eating.

 

"Joonie, answer your phone," Jin hyung says, eyes not leaving his bowl of ramen.

 

"Jinnie~ah, I'm eating," he whines at him, taking a piece of his steak into his mouth, glancing sideways at Jin hyung.

 

"Joon, I'm still your hyung. Pick up your phone, it could be important." Jin stops eating and trains his eyes on Namjoon hyung. _Oh man holy shit._

 

"I'm sure it's just Jackson." He rolls his eyes at Jackson hyung's name and proceeds to cutting his steak with his fork and knife.

 

"Yah!" Jin hyung flicks his head, making him flinch. "It might not be Jackson, answer your phone." He's mad at RM hyung now. They're like some _old_ couple fighting.

 

"Fine," Joonie hyung groans and stands up to answer his ringing phone that he left on the couch.

 

"Eomma, can you pass me the pepper?" I ask Jin hyung, pointing at the small container of pepper. He nods and passes it to me. Yep, this is our _normal_ life. I sprinkle some on my noodles and mix it up.

 

After a few minutes of me bickering with Jimin hyung, Namjoonie hyung finally sits back down with us. He's slicing up his steak and eating three pieces before looking up at us through his eyelashes.

 

"So." Chew. "It was Bang PD-nim." Chew. "He says he has confirmed our collab." He shrugs as if it's nothing and continues to chew.

 

"Well, spit it out!" Jin hyung yells and hits the back of his head causing him to nearly choke on his steak. He coughs a couple times and says, "DJ Khaled will be flying here the day after tomorrow."

 

My eyes nearly fall from their eye sockets. Taehyung and Jimin hyung are staring at RM hyung with their mouths agape. The water Jin hyung was drinking is now dribbling down his chin like a mini waterfall. Suga hyung was the only one who didn't look surprised as well has Hobi hyung.

 

"Good job, Jungkookie," Hobi hyung smiles widely at me, I found myself squinting at his brightness. I smile at myself. It seemed they really did go with my idea. Jin hyung jolts forward a little and seems to realize he was drooling and wipes the mess with a paper towel.

 

"But, DJ Khaled wants to discuss a few things before we proceed." Suga hyung continues for RM hyung. "Not all of us will be joining this collaboration, though." I thought Bang PD-nim had _just_ called Joonie hyung. It looks like Suga hyung already knew about it.

 

"It has to be Taehyung and Jungkook." Jimin and Suga hyung say at the same time. They're both surprised at their sudden outburst, they look at each other and turn away blushing. _Okay now there really is **something** between these two._

 

"We should talk about this when Khaled is present," I say and shake my head at them.

 

"Kookie's right." Jin hyung agrees and barks at my other hyungs to eat more.

 

_I devour the **delicious** food._


	6. Chapter 6

**J.JK** ****

 

I look behind me, then to my left and right to see if there are any of my hyungs who could possibly be watching me. All clear. I tear open the fridge door, grab the carton of milk and drink straight from the carton. If they saw me doing this they would immediately report me to Jin hyung. After taking 4 full gulps of milk I set it back down and grab a slice of bread. I head on over to the couch and sit with my back on the seat and my legs up against the wall. I plug in my earphones and listen to Seventeen's 'Clap'. I don't stop myself when I leave the bread in my mouth and dance to the song. It's just so _damn catchy_.

 

The song switches to 'Universe' by EXO. I sit back down and stare at the white table. Yeah, I am absorbing the lyrics' emotions.

 

After a while I hear a small noise from the kitchen. I pull out one of the earphones and listen more. Another noise. I pull them off completely and slowly walk towards the kitchen. I'm not even shocked to see Taehyung drinking straight from the carton of milk as well. He's trying his _best_ to be quiet. And I'm trying so _insanely_ hard to not laugh. He stops drinking and slowly, _so damn slowly,_ screws the lid back on the carton hole. He moves to turn on his right which is the direction of his room.

 

And he comes face to face with an angry Jin hyung.

 

His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. Before Jin hyung could open his mouth, he drops to his knees. Head down to the floor. "Eomma, mianhae! I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again! I swear!" He yells out, closing his eyes tightly.

 

Jin hyung folds his long arms over his chest and sighs disappointedly. "Alright, get up. Just don't do that again." I don't bother to stick around long enough for their conversation to end and walk out.

 

A loud voice suddenly booms right when I stepped out of the kitchen. "Jungkookie!" Jiminie hyung pops out of nowhere and wraps me in a tight hug.

 

"What, hyung?"

 

"Would you come with me to Haneul Park and maybe take pictures for the fans?" Jimin hyung was more cheerful than usual. _Something's fishy._

 

I press the base of my pointer finger against my upper lip and pretend to think deeply. My schedule's clear for the day anyway so why not.

 

"Yeah, sure."

 

"Alrighty! Let's go!" He pumps the air in triumph and cheers loudly. He was about latch unto my arm when I stopped him.

 

"Hold on, hyung!" I frantically shake my hands in front of him in alarm. "I don't have pants on!"

 

I hurriedly run to my room and retrieve my pants that were placed conveniently on my bed. I attempt to run back to where Jimin hyung is, stumbling on my way as I try to slip on my jeans smoothly, to no avail.

 

"You ready now?" He mockingly asks, looking like he's about to burst into hysterics any second now. I playfully glare at him as I slip on my Timbs.

 

He shakes his head at me before leading me to the doorway. "Are we going to walk or..?"

 

"Beech are you kidding me? Do you want me to die? I hate walking and you know that," he whines (like a baby). I laugh at his childishness and we head out.

 

We walk to the van that is parked just outside the house and Jimin hyung gets in first.

 

**

 

We are now halfway to the park and Jiminie hyung just can't stop bouncing on his seat.

 

"Hyung, what's gotten into you? What are you so excited for? Do you want to pee or something?" He shakes his head no and continues bouncing excitedly. A wide smile is plastered across his lips, eyes turning into crescents.

 

**

 

The rest of the ride to the park was silent with Jimin hyung still bouncing on his seat.

 

As soon as we arrive, he pushes open the door and sprints away, disappearing in the distance. "Wow, I guess he really had to pee," I mumble to myself. I stay on my spot for a while and wait for hyung to come back.

 

After 5 minutes of standing, I finally get tired and walk to find a spot for me and Jimin hyung to stay. I plug in my earphones and IU sunbae-nim's song 'Good Day' plays.

 

I continue walking, kicking some rocks away in the process. I start singing IU sunbae's song joyfully. No one was here so might as well sing like as if I were singing in a concert, right? I start to dance to the song, not even bothering to check again if there were people.

 

The highest note in the song comes close and I launch my self a few steps to the right along with the beat. Eyes closed I sing the high note, voice unwavering. Thank the Lord.

 

_"I'm in my dreaaaaammm~~~~!!!!!!"_

 

After hitting the high notes, I open my eyes and find myself staring straight into IU sunbae-nim's eyes, they were wide and looking directly into my soul. My mouth parts when I take in her surroundings. Her staff was gawking at me with wide eyes.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to the hooman who helped me write this chapter. I misya, gurl.


	7. Chapter 7

**J.JK**

 

I was utterly _speechless_ , I felt my face flush in embarrassment. She saw me singing and dancing to her song. I made a complete fool of myself in front of her. _Pabo_. I did not dare move, even as her staff started murmuring to each other. They looked like they were doing a photoshoot at IU sunbae-nim who was still looking at me with wide eyes.

 

She blinks. Once. Twice. Her pretty lips curve up into a small smile. "Jeon Jungkook, right?" She asked, moving towards me bit. I snap out of my trance and bend my body to bow.  I move back up and force myself to smile and nod at her even though my insides were _exploding_ with fireworks.

 

"Your voice is _really_ good. You listen to my songs?" She smiled broadly. This was awkward. But I was too wrapped up in trying to calm myself down that I didn't even see the grinning staff.

 

"Y-yeah, your songs are really great. They inspire me a lot," I laugh lightly. I felt like such a giddy girl. She laughs. Rich and full. "Well, thank you," she held her palm on her heart and winked at me.

 

_I almost died._

 

"I'm sorry but I really have to finish my photoshoot now, I'll see you around, Jungkook." She smiles at me one last time and bows her goodbye. I quickly bow to her too and walk away. Right when they couldn't see me I bolt to the car. Jimin hyung was already there, a wide, knowing smile plastered across his lips.

 

"Hyung! Did you know she was going to be here?!" I yell, harshly leaning my head on the chair. He set me up. _And I fell for it._

 

"I saw it on twitter." He puts his hands up defensively and smiles sheepishly. I groan in annoyance. He laughs a quietly and starts the car.

 

I did not talk to him during the entire car ride and even once we got home.

 

**

 

I storm into the house, not even bothering to see if Jimin hyung had trailed behind me. I angrily sit on the couch and press my face against a pillow. I am never going to show my face to her now. _Ever_.

 

"Jiminie~ah," I hear Suga hyung call. I press the pillow on my face harder. "What's wrong with Kookie?"

 

I hear Jimin hyung scratching the back of his head. "I kinda brought him to the park because I knew IU sunbae-nim was there. I left him alone and he started singing her song as well as dancing to it. He opened his eyes and he was face-to-face with IU sunbae-nim and her staff." He laughs nervously.

 

"YAH!" I yell angrily, ripping the pillow of my face. "You were there?! I thought you ran away? I fucking thought you just wanted to pee!" I yell at him lividly. I was having a hard time controlling my uneven breaths. If I was going to meet her, I would have wanted to be ready for it. But _nooo_ , Jimin hyung just had to set me up in the most embarrassing way possible. I hated this. And most of all, I hated wanting to cry. I rubbed my face with my hands roughly. I definitely did _not_ want to cry in front of my hyungs.

 

"Aish! Who said that bad word?" I hear Jin hyung come bounding in the living room, demanding who cursed under this roof. "What's wrong with Kookie?" He asks instead when, I guessed, he saw me. I let my hands drop and I walk, footsteps heavy, to my room and slam the door shut.

 

**

**K.SJ**

 

"Chimmy, what happened to Kookie?" I ask after watching him angrily stomp his way into his room. I fold my arms over my chest, waiting for the answer.

 

He looked too guilty to answer so Yoongi answered for him. He told me everything precisely to his knowledge.

 

I rub the bridge of my nose with my pointer finger and thumb. I almost jump when I feel an arm snake it's way around my waist. Yoongi's eyes flick to that arm and the owner of the arm. I fight the blush that's threatening to bloom on my cheeks. I mean, entire face.

 

"Jimin~ah," Namjoon's deep voice drawls out from behind me. "You shouldn't have done that. No wonder Kookie is mad." Joonie says and rests his chin on my shoulder. _What is he doing?_ I push away my thoughts and frown at him. "Joonie's right Jimin, every person has pride and right now Kookie's is badly injured. He probably wanted to be ready for when they would finally interact. In his own time." I nod at him slowly.

 

His face is sad and guilty. "I'm sorry hyung. I just thought it would be good for him. I'll go apologize to him right now." He says and walks away.

 

Yoongi stays a few seconds longer, a knowing gleam in his eyes, directed straight at me. _Now I was definitely as red as a tomato._


	8. Chapter 8

**J.JK**

 

As soon as I slam the door shut, I'm pulling off my shirt and pants. Stripping off the remaining clothes I have on, I head into the shower to calm my nerves. _A damn cold shower to combat my hot anger._

 

I turn off the spray of freezing cold water when my teeth start to clatter. I relish the warmth of my towel as I wrap it around my body tightly. I brush my teeth quickly and wash my face. I walk into my closet and put on some boxers, sweats and a black shirt.

 

I was about to crash on my bed literally and think about how messed up my position was right now but Jimin hyung was sitting on it looking at me with guilty eyes, twiddling with the hem of his black button up.

 

"Hyung get off of my bed," is the only thing I say and look at him expectantly, waiting for him to move. He doesn't.

 

"Jungkookie~, I'm sorry for setting you up. I just realized that you probably would have wanted to meet her in your own time and way." He apologizes, eyes pleading, and lips puffing out into a pout.

 

I don't look at him any longer because I know that if I do I might give in to his cuteness. I almost topple over when an overly bright person attacks my back, legs wrapping around my hips and arms hooked around my my neck, squeezing. "Oh just forgive him Kookie! Look! Look at his cute face!" Hoseok hyung exclaims, practically slaying my eardrums. He puts both of his hands on the sides of my face, squishes, and he forces my face to face Jimin hyung. I am forced to look at his cute and handsome face.

 

"Fine! I forgive you!" I say, but the words are muffled because of how much my face was squished. But just as the words escaped my mouth, Hobi hyung lets go of me and suddenly I'm trapped in Jimin hyung's crushing bear hug.

 

**

 

I sat in the kitchen, munching on potato chips as quietly as I could, watching my ships. Namjoon, Jimin, Jin, and Suga hyung were all sitting in one couch talking about things to do while eating. I took a sip of my water and honed my eyes into lazer sharp focus. Of course, my ships sat next to each other. I did not miss that. RM hyung's hand rested on Jin hyung's thigh, too high up to be normal. Jin hyung seemed unfazed.

 

Oh, so this was _normal_ for them.

 

After a while, he had removed his hand to take a bite out of some chips but then suddenly Suga hyung's arm rested above the couch just behind Jimin hyung. _Oh sheeet!_ Suga hyung's got the moves! I notice the slight tinge of pink on Jimin hyung's cheeks after feeling that arm behind him.

 

_It’s confirmed. Yoonmin exists._

 

I hold in my groan of disappointment when Namjin get up and leave. _But hey, at least I still got one more ship to keep an eye on, right?_ Jimin hyung takes a chip and tells Suga hyung to open his mouth, he smiles big and opens his mouth for Jimin hyung.

 

They're staring at each other with stupid smiles on their faces even as Suga hyung chews the chips that Jimin hyung had fed him. They went on like that for a long time. Tae hyung came in with a yelled, "Yooo!!" And just like that, Yoonmin jump away from each other, startled and blushing profusely.

 

I shake my head and sigh.

 

"We've gotta get going! DJ Khaled is at the office already!" Tae hyung yells again, snapping his fingers at the hyungs and at me. "Namjoon and Jin hyung are already waiting in the van! Chop Chop!" He wiggles his brows and that box-y smile of his appears again on his face.

 

**

 

"DJ Khaled! It's so cool to meet you again!" RM hyung greets with a smile, taking DJ Khaled's outstretched hand. Bang PD-nim is here too along with a couple of our managers and directors.

 

He laughs before saying, "You guys so dope! I'm excited to do this collaboration with you." He smiles, chuckling. "Let's make music that'll reach the mountain top!" He puts his hand high up in the air, gesturing for it to be the 'mountain top'.

 

We all laugh and whoop.

 

"As I was told, I will be working with Suga, Jungkook and Taehyung. Am I right?" He asks, seeking reassurance from all the members, eyes landing on the staff.

 

We all nod. We all voted on who would be on this collab. Taehyung, Yoongi hyung and I had the most votes, and the other hyungs were fine with it, said they were looking for a break anyway.

 

"I just wanted to ask for a single request." He says, sticking up one finger. RM hyung tells him we can do anything in our capabilities to agree to his request and that apparently the staff agreed to this request already, it was just us that he needed to inform about this request.

 

"I have spoken to this other singer and company. I want to bring this singer into our collab." He explains, folding his hands together.

 

"That's great, who is it and what's the plan then?" I ask, getting a little excited for this mystery singer. Maybe it really is Taemin hyung.

 

"I'll show you the picture of the singer later, maybe you're pals. But I was planning on making this a long process. See, I was thinking of setting my collab partners on adventures and activities for a few weeks or months and we write the song about what happened or what developed during the bonding. As soon as that's over I'll be flying right back here to start makin' the song with you guys." He was so damn brilliant. It was a new, fresh idea that I'd never heard before.

 

"Sounds brilliant." RM hyung praises, chuckling and high fiving Tae hyung who was whooping again.

 

"So who's the other singer?" I ask.

 

"Here," he says and taps something on his phone and shows the nearest member next to him, which was Hobi hyung. He smiles at Khaled and inches closer to him so he could see what Khaled was trying to show him.

Once his eyes land on the screen his mouth drops and his eyes burst wide open. Now this makes the other members in the room lean closer and get more curious on who really was the mystery singer. He chuckles again and shows the other person who was beside him, which was Suga hyung. Suga just nods in a approval. My eyes slide back to Hoseok hyung who was still holding the surprised expression together.

 

"Well, who is it, hyung?" Jimin asks, a small smile displaying on his lips, Suga hyung snaps his attention to Jimin hyung and he looks at me and back at him. Who the hell is it?

 

Jimin hyung gasps, covering his mouth. Jin hyung has had enough and walks over to Khaled who was laughing and takes a look at his phone. His eyes widen. "Oh my God, Jungkookie." He breathes out my name and I give him a look. "Me?"

 

"Her name's Lee Ji Eun otherwise known as IU, you guys know her?" Khaled says, raising his brows.

 

_My jaw drops._


	9. Chapter 9

**J.JK**

 

"IU sunbae-nim?" I subconsciously ask breathily.

 

"Yeah, I came across her songs when I was surfin' the tubes (YouTube)." He grins and smacks his hand on his knee, leaning on it. "Why, do you guys not think she's great?"

 

"No, no! She's amazing!" I find myself frantically shaking my hands, emphasizing the fact that I was absolutely head over heals for her. _I am so not obvious._ (Note the sarcasm).

 

Jimin hyung is snickering along with Jin hyung. DJ Khaled lets out another laugh and RM hyung switches the topic and I'll remember to thank him for that later. I sink back into my chair and look into nothingness.

 

IU sunbae-nim is _collaborating_ with us. This must be a dream.

 

**

 

Hobi hyung pats me on the back, "I bet you're excited that you're going to be working with IU." His smile is shining directly into my eyes.

 

"Ha! If anything he's terrified!" RM hyung says, ripping Hobi hyung's hand off my back and replacing it with his own. "It's going to go just fine, Kookie. Just ask her out." He gives me an encouraging smile which just makes me want to hide in a hole. I was the golden maknae but now I just feel like stepping down from my golden throne for a while.

 

"Joonie," Jin hyung frowns at him in disapproval and just like that, Namjoon hyung's smile falls from his face and he mutters an apology, sauntering away. "It's going to be fine, Kookie~ah. I know you'll do just great." He smiles genuinely and leads me to my room so I can get some sweet sleep. We all were ordered by Jin hyung who barked at us to get in bed right as we crossed the front door. Besides, I need all the rest I can get, we're meeting IU sunbae-nim _tomorrow_.

 

_And I am a nervous mess. And I can't do anything about it._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter’s a bit short.


	10. Chapter 10

**J.JK**

 

I wake up way earlier than my alarm clock, showering real good, making sure I smelled better than a perfume bottle, cleaner than soap and prettier than Jin hyung. I put on a face mask and start exercising my vocals incase I have to sing later. After a few more minutes I throw it out and put on some moisturizer. I dry my hair and gel it up a bit. I slip into some denim ripped jeans, a white button-up, and my Timbs. I sit down on my bed and look into space, bouncing my knee rapidly.

 

My door suddenly bursts open. "KOOKIE WAKE—“  Jin hyung starts to yell but then he notices that I am not asleep anymore.

 

"Kookie? You're awake already?" He asks disbelievingly. The other hyungs come running into my room with wide eyes.

 

"You're awake?!" They all ask in unison, faces stuck in shock. Jimin hyung scrambles towards me and holds my face in his hands, inspecting me with squinted eyes. Namjoon hyung steps towards me too and he's touching my hair. I slap his hand away. "Hyung! Stop, you'll ruin my hair!"

 

"We're meeting IU today," Suga hyung says to Jimin hyung who nods as well as Namjoon hyung. "Ah, he's trying to impress her." Namjoon hyung chuckles, walking over to Jin hyung and giving him a hug from behind.

 

"I'm just trying to wake up early," I defend, putting my hands on my face.

 

"Just be yourself," Jin hyung coos and puts his hand over Namjoon hyung's hand.

 

_Okay they are really acting like a couple._

 

 _But can I be myself?_ I feel like the moment I see her I'll turn into a puddle. Jin hyung calls us all to eat breakfast. I kept my head down while eating, not wanting to acknowledge my hyungs who were still gawking at the fact that I woke up early and actually ate breakfast with them. I nearly choked on my pancakes when I at last did lift up my eyes. Tae hyung's eyes were wide as they watched me, creepy and weird. I had to gulp it all down with a glass of orange juice that Hobi hyung had quickly handed me. I could practically feel their stares blaring into me.

 

After breakfast we all went to the Big Hit building for hair and make-up and a short talk with the staff. They told us that it would only be a matter of time when IU sunbae was going to walk in through the doors of the conference room we were now dwelling in.

 

It's just me, Taehyung, and Suga hyung. I fiddle with the wire of my earphones, putting them in after an eon of untangling. I listen to 'No Tears Left To Cry' by Ariana Grande. I'm rubbing my hands on my jeans, and then tapping my foot, and then poking Suga hyung's thigh, and get yelled at by him.

 

I jump up, startled, when Suga hyung's phone suddenly rings. He sighs at me and picks it up.

 

"Jin hyung?... Ah... Really?... Arrasseo, bye," he's looking at me then at the doors and then he's hanging up.

 

"What did he say, hyung?" I ask, pulling on my earphones.

 

"Jin hyung said that Jieun passed by them and she's on her way right now." He says calmly. I nod, trying to keep my cool. The 'cool' breaks apart when the door knob wiggles and twists. Our heads snap to the door. It creaks before it opens.

 

It's _her_.

 

She's moving into the room with a shy smile on her beautiful face. Her hair is left unkept, and she's wearing a dress that looks like a big white button-up and low cut Timberlands. Our outfits are matching. _Holy shit._ I really hope no one will notice.

 

I quickly stand up and bow to her with a nervous smile. Taetae and Suga hyung also stand up and bow, greeting her a good morning when she also bows and smiles widely.

 

"Hello, Suga oppa, Taehyung. Jungkook, it's nice to see you again," she smiles brightly. I am on the verge of bursting in a fit of giddiness and especially when she looks at me with her round, innocent eyes.

 

"Ah, yeah. It's nice to see you again IU sunbae-nim," I give her my best smile. At least, I hope it was. She laughs lightly and sits down on one of the chairs. We sit down right after she does.

 

"So, I guess we'll be besties starting now," she says, setting her small backpack down beside her and then setting her delicate, soft looking hands on the table on front of her.

 

"Yup! You can call me Taetae, Jungkook you can call Jungkookie, Kookie or JK. I guess you could just call Suga hyung oppa." Tae hyung excitedly grins.

 

She laughs, "You guys can call me Jieun now instead of IU, or noona for you guys," she winks at me and Tae hyung during the last part of her sentence. I battle against the blush that's trying to butcher my pride.

 

_How the hell am I going to get through this?_


	11. Chapter 11

**J.JK**

 

"Let's go for ice cream!" She suddenly blurts, a wide grin cracking unto her face. Tae hyung agrees eagerly and I just smile, trying to be cool. For the past hour I've been trying— _trying_ to _**not**_ stare at her intently.

 

"Suga oppa, you're paying!" She calls out right when she's out the door, slipping a sly smile at us before her head pops out.

 

Suga hyung chuckles and watches as Tae hyung follows after her with a jumpy and cheerful attitude. "I see now why you like her," he winks at me and follows after them. _Why does she have to be so damn cute?_ I stuff my phone and earphones in my pocket and move out the door. Jin and Jimin hyung are leaning against the door with smirks on their faces.

 

"What did I do now?"

 

"Did you plan it? You guys got matching outfits," Jin hyung arches a brow at me, still smirking. Jimin hyung is squeezing my arm.

 

"No! I have to go, they'll leave me," I try to take my arm of Jiminie hyung's grip and it wasn't that hard because he just lets go of me after inspecting our surroundings.

 

"No they won't." He says. _Huh?_

 

"Jungkookie~ah." The breath gets knocked out of my lungs when I hear her sweet voice drawl out the syllables of my nickname. Jin and Jimin hyung are like giggling girls as they quickly leave me.

 

"Kookie, let's go," she says with a smile, holding out her hand to me. I quickly smile for her and take her hand. I feel fireworks explode throughout my system from just the touch of her soft touch. I let myself get dragged away by her. _Does she feel it too?_

 

_What is she doing to me?_

 

**

 

"I'll pay," I whisper in Suga hyung's ear before moving towards her. "Noona, what flavor do you want?"

 

She looks turns to look up at me, surprised. "Cookies and Cream but I thought I already told you guys that I'm making oppa pay," she pouts at me and glances at the two hyungs behind me who had idiotic smiles on their stupid faces.

 

"No it's okay, I wanna pay," I grin at her before stepping forward to the counter. The cashier's eyes widens at me and her mouth drops open when she looks behind me.

 

"I'll take two cups of Cookies and Cream," I glance back at the hyungs. "Vanilla." "Chocolate." They both said at the same time. I look back at the blushing cashier. "What they just said." I smile at her kindly. She nods quickly, hiding her blushing cheeks with her hand. I take out my wallet and pay the due amount and she gives us the number thingy and we proceed to take a table that is he farthest from the windows.

 

"So," Noona grins widely. "How about we ask each other some questions to get to know each other better?"

 

"Cool." Suga hyung answers for us.

 

"I'll go first," Tae hyung volunteers and trains his eyes on her. "What is your favorite color?"

 

"Red and yellow," she answers quickly.

 

"Oppa, do you have a crush?" She smirks evily. A waiter gives us our ice cream filled cups and iced tea. She sips on the straw of her iced tea.

 

Suga hyung's blush is answer enough. His guilty smile gave it away too. "Kookie, do _you_ have a crush?" Suga hyung coughs pointedly, proceeding to smirk after he sees me nearly choke on my ice cream. He knows that question hit me. And he was _enjoying_ it.

 

I bring myself to grin as if I knew something he didn't. "Maybe, maybe not."

 

This goes on for a while. Just us throwing questions at each other. Apparently, noona has a gazillion accidents that are hilarious. I tell them the story of how Tae hyung got caught by Jin hyung drinking directly from the milk box. He had turned red and laughed nervously. After a few more hours we practically knew all the basics about each other and then some. I couldn't help but smile the entire time because Jieun noona's smile was radiant enough for the entire universe to light up. I know, I'm so _cheesy_.

 

The more we talked, laughed and smiled with each other the more I felt comfortable with her. The more I wanted to get to know her. The more I felt like waking up early everyday wasn't all that bad when I got to see her and hear her voice.

 

The more I was in her presence, the more I started to _fall_.


	12. Chapter 12

**J.JK**

 

"So I'll see you guys tomorrow here (Big Hit building) and we'll see what DJ Khaled has in store for us," she grins and hugs Suga hyung who's chuckling before rubbing her back. She's hugging Tae hyung who hugs her back warmly, telling her to rest well. She turns to me and gives me a small smile, she waves her hand goodbye and she walks away.

 

I can't say that what she did didn't hurt because truth be told, it hurt like _hell_.

 

I turn away quickly, wanting to just get home and stay locked in my room for a while, I could see the other hyungs through the glass walls of the lounge. They're all giving me the 'It's okay. You're okay' looks. I bite my lip.

 

I am frozen in my tracks, breath inhaled sharply, cheeks red when small, delicate but strong arms wrap around my waist tightly. "You think I wouldn't give you a hug goodbye too?" She giggles against my back. Jin hyung and Jimin hyung are screaming in joy. Jin hyung is strangling Namjoon hyung in a death hug. I don't think I'm _breathing_.

 

"From now on, I'll always give you guys goodbye hugs. You guys are cool." She mumbles before squeezing and letting go. I turn to her and give her a happy smile. "Goodbye, noona~. Sleep well." I ruffle her hair and she laughs before pouting cutely. "If you're giving us goodbye hugs, I'll give you a goodbye hairstyle." I say jokingly. She laughs and waves us goodbye one last time before she walks away.

 

**

 

"Jungkook~ah! That was adorable!" Jimin hyung squeals, his wide smile making his eyes disappear. Suga hyung is smiling beside him. Let me rephrase that, Yoongi hyung is smiling at Jimin hyung.

 

"Hyung, she doesn't see me like that," I mumble.

 

Jin hyung just grins as he leans his head on RM hyung's shoulder since he was, again, hugging Jin hyung from the back. Like I say all the time, they're a lovey dovey old couple. If you're wondering where Tae and Hobi hyung are, they're playing video games in V hyung's room.

 

Right now, we are surrounding the dinning table, eating midnight snacks. And they still had not gotten over me and Jieun noona. I don't blame them. Hell, even I can't get over her. She's just got this friendly, outgoing vibe that makes me want to stick to her like glue. Her eyes are always so bright, cheerful and so _damn innocent._

 

"You're thinking about her aren't you?" RM hyung guesses with a teasing tone. My head snaps to him.

 

"We can tell because you always look down and stare into nothingness with a stupid lovestruck smile on your face." Suga hyung answers, lips pursed and head nodding as if telling me 'yeah, I know, you look stupid'.

 

A quick glance at the clock tells me it's almost 1am. I bid my farewell to my hyungs, telling them I'm sleepy and that I need to sleep.

 

"Wake up by yourself tomorrow, I don't want to come inside your room if I know you're going to greet me with morning wood." Jin hyung calls out.

 

I spin around instantly, face red as a tomato. "W-WHAT?!"

 

RM and Yoongi hyung burst out in a fit of hysterics. Jin and Jimin hyung are wiggling their eyebrows at me. "You're a big boy now. You have a girl in your head and your dreams will be filled with her." Jin looks at me sternly, even though his lips are twitching to smile.

 

"H-HYUNG!"

 

"It's happened twice before, I don't want to see it again," he says with a shrug, Jimin hyung nodding in agreement. I don't ever want to relive that scenario again.

 

"I thought we agreed to not ever talk about it again!" I feel so embarrassed right now. I can't.

 

"Go to bed. Wake up yourself." He says lastly, flicking his finger towards my bedroom door.

 

I trudge my way into my room without argument, cheeks blaring red. And the hyungs are just laughing. They are so embarrassing.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**J.JK**

 

"Aaaaaaaaaaannndddd he's up early again! I win, pay up!" Jimin hyung yells triumphantly. Standing atop the dinning table's chair with a grin stretching across his face as he thrusts his hands towards Hobi hyung. He laughs and pays him a couple bills and some coins.

 

I just roll my eyes and sit down next to them, immediately stuffing a piece of toast and butter in my watering mouth. Jimin hyung gets down from the chair and sits down, eating a chicken breast sausage. V hyung passes me the pitcher of mango juice.

 

"Had a good night's sleep?" Suga hyung asks, cocking his head to the side, a teasing smile etched on his lips.

 

I groan, leaning my head on the table with a loud thud.

 

"Oh, so it was a _hard_ night?" Jin hyung asks rather seriously, his twitching lips saying otherwise. All the blood rushes to my face. I've been blushing a lot lately. He explodes, face crinkling in laugh lines. V hyung laughs before getting up to scavenge the refrigerator.

 

"Hyung stop it," I sigh hopelessly, shoving another slice of toast in my mouth. Jin hyung may be annoying as hell but he makes the best food.

 

"Alright, alright," he puts his hands up in surrender. He leans back in his chair and turns to look at Taetae hyung. His face turns red. He's standing up now, body fully facing V hyung. " _YAH_! You're drinking from the carton _again_!?! How many times do I have to tell you to get a glass?! You'll _infect_ us all with your alien behavior!" He grabs his magazine and rolls it, smacking a flustered Tae hyung on the head with it.

 

**

 

"Right when DJ Khale—” PDogg wasn't able to finish his sentence because someone had knocked on the door way too many times and came in. Jieun noona's hair was wild as if she was racing to get here, she wore black shorts and a white button-up blouse, some black Doc Martens with it.

 

"I am so sorry I'm late," she rushes forwards bowing to Pdogg and Bang PD-nim. I stand up quickly bowing, "Good morning, noona." I greet politely. She turns to us, a grin stretching out on her beautiful face.

 

"Good morning, Kookie~," she says with a big smile, waving her hand at me and even though she's just across the long table. I nearly blush and wave back.

 

"IU, it's okay, I was just telling them today's activity that DJ Khaled has planned," Pdogg said kindly as she sits down on a random chair, slinging her red backpack over the chair next to it. She nods and smiles for him to continue.

 

"As soon as Khaled landed in America again, he sent us word of his plan for today. You are to go ice skating today."

 

"Ice skating?!"

 

Our heads all turn to Jieun noona, who's eyes are wide. "Something the matter, Jieun~ah?" Suga hyung asks.

 

She shakes her head almost immediately. "Of course not! Skating's good." She nods, but I can see that her smile is nervous. "Skating's great!"

 

**

 

"Hyung, need help with that?" I ask Taetae, who's struggling with tying the laces of his skating boots.

 

His head snaps up when he hears my voice and offer. He nods his head at me eagerly, "Yes, please." I nod before helping him tie his shoe laces. He thanks me afterward and I move towards the ice rink, gliding across the ice towards Suga hyung who's talking to Jieun noona at the side.

 

"Hey, why aren't you guys skating yet?" I ask, slinging an arm over Yoongi hyung's shoulders. Jieun noona smiles.

 

"We were just talking about some songwriting," he says. "Well then, let us get to skating," he grins a gummy flash  of teeth and skates away to Tae hyung.

 

I look to noona who's now looking at her feet uneasily. "Noona, let's skate?"

 

She quickly hides her nervousness with an overly bright smile and she glides straight past me. She let's out a small frightened squeal when she wobbles and falters, taking a breath of relief when I grab her hand to steady her. It's like a fireworks party bursting throughout my body again. She gives me a thankful smile and I lead her as she slowly starts to move her legs past one another, gliding little by little.

 

"That's it, you're getting the hang of it," I say, looking at her with a smile. She's too focused on staying upright that she's just looking at me through her hair that's fallen over her eyes from how much she's looking down. She smiles almost apologetically. I chuckle when her grip tightens on my hand but at the same time, the fireworks that are _still_ partying in my stomach just get _wilder_.

 

"Kookie?"

 

"Noona," I raise a questioning brow at her.

 

"Nothing. I just really like your nicknames." She grins cutely.

 

"I know," I manage to smirk, keeping my 'chill' but internally screaming like a little boy who's been kissed on the cheek by the girl he likes. She tips her head to laugh even while she's starting to skate faster and faster. My grip on her is gone.

 

"Noona, be careful," I call out to her when she finally regains her senses and she looks like she's about to panic.

 

"Kookie, help me!" She lets out a little broken scream when she slips and she's falling. On instinct, my legs move fast, and I'm in front of her, my hands wrapping around her waist tightly, causing her body to press against mine fully. And we're falling. My back hits the hard ice but I hardly feel the pain because all I feel right now is _her_.

 

Her head is buried in my chest, my arms still around her. She's warm and fuzzy. I'm still frozen. She's small against me, small and fragile. But she's not fragile though, she is strong and brave. I'm doing everything I can to keep myself from getting too excited. I bite my lip. It's intoxicating, her smell, the feel of her and just her very essence. I literally _fell_ for her.

 

Her small graceful hands are on my chest, pushing herself up so she can look at my face. And then she straddles me, putting her hands on my face. " _Ohmygodohmygodohmygod_! Kookie! Are you okay?! I'm so sorry!" She's inspecting me for any injuries and the thought that she even cares is very heart fluttering to me. But she keeps on moving and moving. I put my hands on her hips, steadying her. How the fudge am I going to keep myself from getting too excited when she keeps wiggling? "Noona, I'm fine." I force myself to look a little bit smug. "It's a good thing that I caught you, noona."

 

"Why? I would probably have been fine if you didn't," she frowns, eyebrows furrowing.

 

"If I didn't catch you, noona," I say, " _You would have fallen for somebody else_."


	14. Chapter 14

**J.JK**

 

I emit a low chuckle when her face is flooded with heat, cheeks a bright pink, although, she is smiling at me brightly. "You flirt," she laughs, slapping my chest jokingly. She still hasn't moved from her straddling position. I still don't feel the cold that's supposed to be pressing against my back.

 

"A newfound comfortable position to be in, guys?" Suga hyung asks with a teasing expression, aimed right at us. V hyung is beside him too, his phone out with a boxy smile. He's taking a video or picture. _Little prick._

 

She laughs nervously before standing up. And now's the time I feel the stinging cold and the ache of the back of my head and butt. Suga hyung gives a hand to help me up.

 

"HYUNG!"

 

I'm about half-way up when his grip loosens and I fall back on my butt on the hard cold ice again. His eyes are blown wide at the sound of Jimin hyung's voice. We all look to him. He's waving at us excitedly, "Hyung! Tae, Kookie and Jieun noona! Pdogg allowed me to come with you guys!" He yells excitedly. Launching into a run right into the ice without even wearing ice skating boots. And because of that, he slips. Face first. Into the very, _very_ hard ice.

 

Tae hyung is there immediately, slinging Jimin hyung's arm over his shoulders, helping him up. Jimin hyung is smiling but his lip is busted and bleeding. We all follow them both to a stool. Jieun noona had asked for an ice pack from a nearby store and handed it to Tae hyung who is now pressing it against Jiminie hyung's swollen lip.

 

Suga hyung is practically glaring burning knives and arrows at Tae hyung's back. He's _so_ jealous.

 

I didn't expect the thing that happens next.

 

Yoongi hyung is pushing Taehyung out of the way, taking the ice pack and handkerchief from him. He quietly tells Jimin hyung to stand up. He does, surprise clear on his face. Yoongi hyung sits on the stool and pats his thighs. "Jiminie, sit here. Let me take care of you."

 

Jimin hyung's face is smacked with shock and awe, his face turning a bright red-pink. Jieun noona is biting her lip to keep from squealing at how cute they are together. Yes, she told me she ships them. Tae hyung's still sitting on the ground since Suga hyung had pushed him but he has a giddy smile on his lips.

 

Jimin doesn't say no, and sits on Suga hyung's lap, straddling him a bit. His face is still flushed. And he's staring at Yoongi hyung's face but he's occupied with dabbing Jimin hyung's lips with the handkerchief wrapped ice pack that he doesn't notice the small man intently staring at his face.

 

It's like they're in their own world so we leave them alone.

 

"They're not dating yet?" Noona asks after we are in far enough distance that they can't hear us.

 

I shake my head no, "Unfortunately, not yet."

 

"They're made for each other, though," Tae hyung grins, looking back at us since he was ahead by a few steps.

 

"Why didn't you tell us that you couldn't skate well? We could've asked for another activity," Tae turns to Jieun noona, who's now bashfully looking at her feet. "I didn't want to mess up DJ Khaled's list of activities for us and besides, you wouldn't have refused if you saw how much Kookie's face lit up with excitement." She smiles brightly, winking at me. And, almost giving me _another_ heart attack.

 

Tae hyung looks at me, grinning from ear to ear. I roll my eyes and shove my hand in his face, making him groan and lick my hand in attempt to make me retract my hand. It works though. I hastily wipe it on my jeans.

 

We all get back into the rink and me and Taehyungie hyung are taking turns on guiding noona. She falters and slips occasionally but we manage to catch or steady her every time. Her cheeks are pink because of the embarrassment of not getting the hang of it.

 

A little while later Yoonmin decide to finally join us. Although they look flustered and won't look at each other in the eyes. _I see_.

 

Jimin hyung grabs me by the bicep and leads me away from the group. I just mentally shrug and follow him.

 

"What's up?" I casually say.

 

He runs a tiny hand through his hair. "We almost kissed."

 

My eyes threaten to jump out of their respective residences and pursue yodeling. "YOU _WHAT_?"

 

And then his tiny weeny hands are on my mouth, attempting to shut me up, very poorly. He's hissing at me with narrowed eyes. "Don't ever tell anyone that I even told you this." He says, dead serious. He then proceeds to sigh sadly and run his hand through his hair. _Again_.

 

I push his small hand out of the way. "Hyung, you and Yoongi hyung almost _kissed_?"

 

He bangs his head on my shoulder in frustration. "Yes and I don't know what to do." His voice is quiet. Small.

 

I place my hands on his shoulders. And I crane my head forward so only he can hear. "Hyung, tell me how you feel."

 

He stiffens but releases a shaky breath. "Jungkookie~ah. I like him. I _really_ like him." He pulls back to look at me in the eyes. Fear. "I'm scared that it'll all go away and he'll leave me. I don't know what to do. What if when I tell him how I feel, our friendship is jeopardized." He squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head. "I can't handle him hating me, Kookie. I just _can't_."

 

I pull him into a hug. Maybe because I don't offer the best advice, or maybe it's because that's how _I_ feel with Jieun noona. "Hyung, I've never really had any experience with relationships. I don't even have any. But I think that if you really like Yoongi hyung, you should make a move on him. We all know he's a lazy old grandpa that won't lift his ass up for shit! Except you though. If he turns you away, I'll make sure to slap some sense into him. If he still turns you away, you deserve better and he'll be regretting it for the rest of his life." I say, patting his back softly.

 

He laughs, sniffling. He pulls away and looks at me with a smile now. "Since when did you get so inspirational?"

 

"Since the time I started practicing my speeches for when my ships ask me for some advice." I answer truthfully and seriously.


	15. chapter 15

**J.JK**

It's been around 3 weeks since our first activity occurred. We've done a hell lot of stuff. We went sky diving, which ended in Taetae hyung's parachute to nearly fail him. We went camping in the middle of nowhere for 4 days. That was the main activity that drew us all closer. We were totally comfortable with each other after that. Like it wouldn't be weird if Jieun noona slept on Yoongi hyung's shoulder or if I'm drooling on Jieun noona's lap because I slept on it. We went to a couple of different cities for amusement parks, and food trips. There was one incident that noona was just so jet lagged that she fell asleep and her entire face was smashed into her ice cream sundae. Taetae hyung had laughed so hard that juice came out of his nostrils. We went swimming in different beaches, pools and water resorts. Suga hyung kept away from the sunlight at all costs, yes, like a vampire. Sadly, he doesn't glitter. He only turns into the Grinch, except not in Christmas. Mountain climbing too, in different cities. The entire time, I was praying to _not_ die early.

_Do you have any idea how hard it is to not have a heart attack when the girl you like is near you all the damn time?! When she suddenly hugs you, or holds your hand?_

_When she_ **_smiles_ ** _._

I look at the mirror and I always get so shook. How the heck am I still alive when my heart keeps beating irregularly and abnormally because of a girl?

Now we are busy packing. Well, Suga, Tae hyung and me are done packing. Noona is still not done, which is why I am now sprawled out on her bed like a sexy muscled octopus, watching V hyung help her pick out her outfits. And of course, he likes to pick out _only_ Gucci made items.

"Noona, what about that one?" I say pointing to an article of clothing that is just so stylish and beautiful.

She looks at it and then at me, she frowns. "Kookie, that's the 5th plain white shirt that you pointed out." She puffs out her cheeks. Taetae hyung's frowning at me too. "We get that you have a bazillion white tees but we seriously need to get her packed up already. We're flying to L.A. tomorrow!" He sighs, digging into her closet again.

Yes, we are going to L.A. but Jimin and Jin hyung are coming because ... I forgot. One of noona's friends are coming too. We haven't met her yet. But, we are going to have dinner with her later in about 3 more hours.

They were taking way too long and I'm craving ice cream. I get up from her bed and randomly take out two dresses, a shirt and ripped jeans. I inspected it. She would look great in all of these. The first dress was baby pink, it was pinched at the waist but flowing at the bottom. The top part of it was designed with lace and pearls. The second dress was a light yellow dress. Plain but pretty, I guess. The shirt was black and ripped in some places, with a some rock band's logo in the front and the jeans were denim and ripped insanely, but not too revealing. I hand them to her. She's surprised. Maybe because it isn't a white tee this time. She inspects it. Taetae inspects it too.

And there it is.

My heart beats rapidly.

She's smiling at me.

And she breaks into a sprint, flinging her arms around my neck, her legs wrapping around my waist, and her face nuzzling into my chest. "Kookie you're a genius. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her voice is muffled but I can't feel, hear or see anything but her. I feel cliche. But it's what's happening. And if she doesn't let go, my imagination will take over and I definitely do _not_ want that happening.

"I know, I'm good at everything," I say, trying to sound proud instead of being so so soft for this amazing girl.

She laughs pulling away and smiling at me again. I take this time to memorize her features. _I am_ _not Edward Cullen-ing._ She's just so exquisite. And she's leaving me breathless every time.

"Yeah, you are." She giggles.

I was about to say another bragging remark but the next thing she does makes feel like dropping on the ground with my body limp and lifeless.

She kisses me on the cheek.

And it wasn't even a peck. It was a four second kiss. And in those four seconds, my mind was full of _her._

 


	16. chapter 16

**J.JK**

 

 

"Yeah and he froze! He was as red as the IT's lipstick and nose!!" Taetae hyung laughingly yells, jumping up and down with Jiminie and Jin hyung. _Such girls._

 

I just take one last bite out of my slice of bread and stand from where I was comfortably seated on the big bean bag and walk over to Taetae and shove the bread in his mouth, silencing the embarrassing comments about me. He doesn't complain and chews.

  
  
Jin hyung turns to me and gestures his glass of strawberry yogurt at me, "Kookie~ah, you're done packing right?"

 

I nod.

 

"You packed shirts other than your white ones?" He cocks a groomed brow, sipping the yogurt. Jimin hyung snorts.

 

I roll my eyes and nod again, taking the glass of yogurt out of Jin hyung's hand. "You didn't forget extra briefs?"

 

"No I didn't," I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for his mothering to be over.

 

He nods in approval, "And you didn't forget to pack some lotion?" He asks.

 

"Yeaahhh."

 

He nods again. "You didn't forget to pack some sunglasses and hats?" He proceeds to bite into bread, eyes trained on me.

 

"Mhhhmmmmm," I nod tiredly.

 

"Toothbrush?"

 

I nod again, drinking the yogurt.

 

He nods again. "What about condoms?"

 

I sigh with a yes. Taetae hyung chokes on his bread.

 

When I finally process the words that left Jin hyung's mouth, I'm choking on the yogurt and spitting it out, face red with embarrassment.

 

"HYUNG, WHAT THE FUCK?!" I yell exasperatedly, slamming my hands flat on the table. Jimin hyung bursts in laughter, tapping the table and holding his stomach with the other hand. Jin hyung's face is red.

 

"Yah! Did you just curse?! I asked you if you packed protection! What is so wrong with being prepared, Jeon Jungkook?! APOLOGIZE!" He angrily stands up.

 

Unconsciously my bottom lip puckers outward and my head is slowly tilting downwards. Jimin hyung is now laughing hard along with Taetae hyung. Jin hyung is looking at me expectantly.

I mutter an apology under my breath.

 

And that's when the windshield-wiper, shoulder-bobbing laugh erupts from him, face contorted in absolute hysterics. My mouth drops open.

 

"T-the look h-his F-FACE!" He manages to squeaks out, making my face burn with more embarrassment and humiliation. _Why are they taking advantage of my innocence?_

 

This makes Taehyung and Jimin hyung laugh even more, if that was even possible. Just a little bit more and they'd be rolling around on the group laughing their butts off.

 

"H-hyungs! Stop it!"

 

They just keep laughing and laughing. I'm sitting here, yogurt on my upper lip, face flushed and clueless on what to do while my hyungs, supposedly more responsible and mature, are bullying me and proceeding to laugh at me like complete utter grade-schoolers.

 

"Look at him! Look! He's probably yelling, 'Yah! Stop taking advantage of my innocence,' in his head right now!" Taetae points an accusing finger at me, still laughing.

 

My ears feel hot.

 

"Who the fuck said Jungkookie was innocent!?" RM hyung screams marching into the kitchen. His eyes are wide and disbelieving. Jin hyung doesn't even scold him for cursing.

 

And this, unfortunately for me, makes the hyungs laugh harder than John Cena and his punches.

 


	17. chapter 17

**J.JK**

 

"Kookie, where's Yoongi oppa?" Noona asks after giving me a hug as a greeting. She turns to Taetae hyung and gives him a hug too.

We're all in a restaurant waiting for Jieun noona's mystery friend who is coming with us to the States tomorrow.

"Suga hyung's just outside, Jackson was asking him about RM hyung," I chuckle. And just as I said the words Suga hyung came in and greeted noona with a hug and kiss on the cheek, sitting down afterwards.

"Jackson was bored again," he smiles apologetically.

"Where's your friend, noona?" Taetae hyung asks her, looking around the restaurant. She wasn't here yet.

"She'll be here in a few minutes, she's just a little caught up with work," she answers with a smile, brushing her hair back behind her ear. She's wearing a black sweater dress and a simple gold necklace. She looks beautiful, like  _always._

She lands her sparkling eyes on Taetae hyung. "Do tell me, what Gucci clothes have you made the boys wear?" At that, he smiles from ear to ear. Even noona has guessed that Taetae hyung was the one who dressed us up. Does she not have even a single shred of faith that me and Yoongi hyung can dress fancy ourselves?

"As you can see, I have dressed Yoongi hyung in an all black assemblage, all Gucci of course, his shoes are are leopard printed with the fuzzy stuff." He waved his hand around in circles at Yoongi hyung who was pouting miserably. Again, he made us wear fancy clothes and look nice for this dinner.

"And Kookie here," he takes hold of my shoulders, "I dressed in something other than Gucci, he's also all black suit and slacks with a black undershirt. This is a mixture of Armani and Versace," he grins widely, wiggling his brows. "And his belt, that is Hermés."

Noona laughs and nods at him in approval. "I wouldn't expect something below the best, of the fashion icon that is you, Taetae," she laughs again and blow him a kiss. He winks at her playfully and drags a hand through his hair, attempting to look like a hot model.  _I'm a dude so he just looks weird but to girls maybe he does look like a heavenly god._

I hear the bell that was placed on top of the door of the entrance jingle. I turn in my seat. "Oh there she is." Noona says behind me. She's pretty, she has hazel almond shaped eyes, wavy hair that grazes her collar bones and plump lips. She's an average in level of height. She really looks pretty. She's wearing a light purple fitted long sleeved shirt that ends just above her belly button. Her denim pants were ripped immensely and her belt stood out because it was so obviously Gucci, something V hyung would appreciate a lot. Her shoes were Gucci too.

The expression she wore was scary, like she was strict and uptight. But when her eyes glazed over our table, her growing smile made her entire face light up, making her look even more beautiful.  _I know what you're thinking, don't worry._

_My heart is only for Jieun noona._

_So cheesy, I know. XD_

Her waves bounce on her shoulders as she walks over to us. We all stand and greet each other before sitting down again. She slides in next to Jieun noona, giving her a hug.

"Boys, this is Carmele Chua, she's a world renowned cardiovascular surgeon, she became a surgical resident when she was only 18 and became a professional surgeon 2 years later. She was doing surgeries in Japan which is why she's a bit late. She's a 1995er by the way." Jieun noona says, ignoring the blushing friend beside her who was trying to get her to stop bragging about her.

"Carmele, the dude who looks scary is Min Yoongi oppa, the stylish handsome other dude is Kim Taehyung. And last but not the least, my muscled bunny, Jeon Jungkook," she winks at me at her last sentence. She called me  _her muscled bunny._ Somebody help, I feel a heart attack coming up.

Carmele noona gives me a look that I can't read and smirks.  _What?_ She says hi to the hyungs.

And so the dinner begins.

 

**

  
"So what'd you guys think of Carmele?" Suga hyung asks after a while of sitting in silence in the car. We're heading home.

"She's cool." I say.

"She's really pretty. She's got a great personality too. And did you see the Gucci?" Tae hyung blurts.

I turn to him, poking his cheek. "Yah, Taehyungie~. Do have a crush on her or something?" Under the pad of my finger, I feel heat blooming on his cheeks although I can't see it through the darkness of the car.

"Of course not!" He says quickly, stuttering a bit.

I gasp loudly and dramatically. "You do, don't you!?"

He tells me to shut up and shoves my face with his long hand. I don't bother to argue.

 

_In the end, I know he likes Carmele noona._

 


	18. chapter 18

**J.JK**

 

Jin hyung is dressed in slacks, a random shirt and his big pink coat, a big black bag slung on the bend of his arm, eyes covered by shades and free hand holding onto a folder with all of our passports and tickets and at the same time holding the handle of his pink luggage case.

I dress for comfort when I'm going on a plane, I'm wearing some black sweats, black shirt, black coat, black Timbs and my backpack. As you've probably already guessed, Tae hyung is dressed in all things Gucci, Jimin hyung following after his lead, wearing a blue button up, slacks, Gucci shoes and accessories. Jieun noona looks effortlessly pretty. Dressed in just casual ripped boyfriend jeans and a fitted white cropped shirt, her hair held up in a messy bun and a yellow carrier in hand. And Carmele rocking a black shirt and leggings, shades, and wavy hair put up in a high ponytail. The thing is, she's wearing a humanely fuzzy leopard printed coat. And plus points because it was Gucci branded.

We are at the airport, currently waiting for this person to take our luggage and bring them to the bag drop since we can't really do it ourselves because, apparently, we might get mobbed and swallowed alive by fans. The ARMYs are not like that, they don't mean us any harm, but orders are orders and we have to follow as we are said.

I shove my hand into the paper bag filled with some snacks that I packed and move it towards Jieun noona. "Noona, you want some?"

She smiles and takes some, munching cutely. "You can buy food almost anywhere but you still bring snacks, it's so cute," she coos, tapping the tip of my nose with her finger.

Jin hyung joins in our conversation, "He brought them to the BBMAs too."

I roll my eyes at them and finish the remainder of my food.  _Why buy food when you can bring some from home, right?_

"I heard something about that, you guys have really observant fans," she laughs and then her eyes widen in sudden realization. She's furiously slapping her hand on Carmele noona's arm in attempt to grab her attention. She groans out loud and faces IU noona.

"Aren't you an ARMY?! Oh my God, I just remembered!" She screams in her face. In the corner of my sight I notice an old lady jolting in surprise at her sudden outburst. Carmele noona's jaw drops open, if it weren't for the dark sunglasses that tinted her vision a darker shade of brown, her eyes would've been blown wide.

"I still remember you telling me about boys that debuted when  you were still 17! You had just graduated college then! What album was it? The one that you bought?" She's shaking and patting Carmele noona's shoulders.

"2 cool 4 skool?" Suga hyung laughingly cocks a brow.

Jieun noona's gaze quickly snaps to me, clapping her hands in front of my face. "YES! YES, THAT'S THE ONE!"

I cover her mouth because by now everyone's eyes are on us and so are their phones.

"So, who's the bias?" Seokjin hyung asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Carmele noona just laughs and shakes her head. "Kim Taehyung."

Choking. Someone is choking. Someone is choking behind me. I quickly turn around. V hyung is choking on his bubble gum. I hit his back hardly and he coughs again as he regains his composure. The other hyungs are laughing along with the noonas.

"How am I just remembering all these now?" Jieun noona shakes her head in disappointment towards herself.  _Cute._ Carmele noona shrugs. "You literally used to scream at me every time Taetae's baby belly was exposed." The choking occurs again. I hit Taetae hyung's back again, and again he regains composure, cheeks a bright shade of taffy pink.

Carmele noona points at him. "Do  **not**  be embarrassed. Your baby belly is amazing." She says bluntly. It's my turn to choke. On my own saliva. "Tae actually lost his baby belly," Jimin hyung interjects with a frown. "He's got abs now." At that, Carmele noona tears her sunglasses off, revealing her widening eyes. "BUT WHYY?!"

He blushes deeper and opens his mouth but no words come out, he closes it and opens it like a gaping fish.

**

The plane smells like hand sanitizer and freshly made plastic. The seating arrangements were planned by Jin hyung, being the mother that he is. And like the horrible wing man, he sat me right next to Jieun noona and Carmele noona beside Taetae. Jin, Jimin and Suga hyung sat with each other. I crumpled my paper bag, that carried my snacks before I finished them all, and looked around for places to shove it in. And the ball is snatched from my hand.

"Butthole, you're not supposed to crumple it and shove it someplace you think no one else will see," she scowls and folds it neatly into a teeny tiny little triangle. I open my mouth to protest but she's right. I frown and pout. This makes her giggle and pinch my cheeks. "You're so cute."

I smile even with her finger still pinching my cheeks and make a kissy face. She laughs and shoves her hand on my face.

 

**

  
**K.TH**

 

I shift awkwardly in my seat when Carmele removes her sunglasses and fuzzy coat. She smiles at me apologetically which I return. She then proceeds to free her waves from the tight ponytail. She looks beautiful. She's really smart too, most surgeons are in their late 20s or even 30s after they graduate.

"What time do you think we'll arrive in the States?" She asks suddenly, making me snap out of my daze. I hum and think before saying, "Around lunch time, I guess."

She groans, "I really want to go to Panda Express."

I wink at her playfully, "Then we shall."

My heart thumps wildly when she winks back. "Indeed."

And then the most embarrassing thing happened to me. I didn't notice that the airplane was taking off. Take offs scare the living shit out of me. So I immediately slammed my body back into the seat, eyes clamped shut. My blood runs cold and I'm sweating profusely. I bite my lip to keep from screaming JK's name so he'll come hold me. I know, I'm such a baby.

"Hey, hey, hey," Carmele's calm but worried voice floats through the air. A soft hand is placed atop my tightly clenched one. She takes it into both of her hands while caressing my hand with her thumbs soothingly. I feel so embarrassed that she has to see this side of me. I'm going to die. I unclench my fist and she is quick to lace her hand with mine, holding steady. Her fingers are long and lithe. She saves lives with those fingers.

I give her a remorseful smile. She shakes her head and just smiles warmly. "It's okay, I get scared sometimes too." She laughs but doesn't let go of my hand. I sigh in relief.

 

"And don't worry, you're still my bias." She whispers in my ear.

 


	19. chapter 19

**K.C**

 

I hurriedly run through the halls, barely missing shoulders. I can't afford another failure. Another mistake and I'll be thrown out of this building like a piece of scratch paper with unfinished and unsatisfactory ideas. I bite my lip. I wanted to stand on my own two feet. I wanted to be independent. I didn't want him to do all the work for me.

_Khristy,_ _I can take care of you._

_We'll be together, you won't have to work._

_You could sit around and just chill, you know?_

This is what I wanted. I wanted this. Right? I could've been by his side right now and we'd just be sitting around drinking way too much iced coffee. But here I am now, a scullery intern at BigHit Ent., pathetic and incapable of doing anything right. I try to run faster, at least as fast I can when I'm juggling 6 cups of burning hot coffee. I swerve to the right, nearly bumping into a cardboard cut-out of a Bangtan member. I spot the door to the advertising department, I'm going to make it. I'm so close.

Yet so far.

A person slams into me, making  _all_  of those burning hot coffee spill onto my white dress. I let out a small scream, muffling it with my hands. It was painful.

But there was an agitated growl, "Do you know how much this tie cost me, pathetic girl?!" He seethes, clearly fuming. He's he one who accepted me as an intern and threw me at some other person to handle. Jeff. He's glaring at me. And I can feel the tears build up in my eyes but I just drop to my knees, in the middle of this busy hallway. "I-I am so sorry, sir! Please—give me another chance! I—please!" I'm sobbing now. Pathetic, useless, spineless girl.

His nose flares but he closes his eyes and breathes out through his nose. "I'm going to get myself cleaned up, I will talk to you later." He starts to walk away but he looks back past his shoulder and spits out, "Until then, grow some backbone, your cowardice is affecting the entire building." And he leaves. He leaves me alone in the hallway, drenched in coffee, white dress nearly too see-through as it sticks to my body due to the wetness of the coffee. Lots of stares and harsh judgments.

I turn back to the mess and start picking up the stray coffee cups, gathering them into the cardboard folder, watching as my tears make little drops on the box. My hands are shaking.

I chose this.

I wanted to make my way to the top  _alone_.

I chose this.

I bite my lip and tuck my curly hair behind an ear even when almost every part of me is drenched in coffee.

 

**

  
**J.HS**

 

The one person I didn't like. Jeff. He was working in the advertising department and I didn't like him. Not one bit. And even more so when I caught him with that intern. She looked like she was in a hurry, Jeff suddenly popped of nowhere and clashed into her, spilling the coffee everywhere. Well, mostly on her. Barely on Jeff. But he still yelled at her. Yelled at her for 'ruining' his  _3 dollar tie._

She's crying. I can hear the sniffles. Her dress is turning sheer, leaving nothing to cover her nakedness. I quickly pad across the room, stripping off my coat in the process, and lay it over her shoulders gently. She flinches but I leave my arm around her. I bring my face close to hers so she can hear me. Her eyes are a warm coffee brown, filled with ... shame. They're framed by thick eyelashes. She has short curly hair that softly brushes at the half of her neck. She has pretty lips.  _She looks so beautiful, but she doesn't have brightness that's supposed to be in her._

"Hey, I'm Hoseok." I smile at her widely. Her big eyes widen as they take in my appearance. But I start to notice the stares so I lean in to whisper in her ear, "Please let me help you. Come with me." I take her small hands in mine, so soft. She's hesitant but nods and clutches my hands. I lead her past the busy people and bring her to our private room. Namjoon's still in his studio. I close the door and lock it. I set her down to the couch with a smile, "Just wait a sec, let me get you a change of clothes."

She shakes her head frantically, "Nononononono! Please, you don't have too!"

I chuckle, "I'm going to get you some of my clothes." I walk over to the closet.

"I'll get fired for this," she whispers but I hear it. I continue to pick out a big hoodie. Big enough to be a dress for her. I walk back to her. "There's a shower in that door right there. Clean up and wear this, it's big enough to be a dress for you." I say quietly, still smiling.

She's frowning. "I can really get through the day like this. It's fine really. Thank you, Jung Hoseok." She doesn't call me by my stage name. She doesn't call me oppa so she could be my age.

"What's your name?" I ask instead.

"Khristine. Khristine Callas."

"Well, Khristine Callas, I know what you're going through. I was in your place before, and by those experiences I can definitely tell you that I know you won't be able to go through this day with coffee all over you. You can't just keep dismissing yourself like that. So please, get changed and let me help you." I say after sitting down right next to her.

She inhales a shaky breath and looks at me, "Okay—Okay." She gives in and goes in the bathroom.

I get bored with silence. I pick my phone and call Yoongi hyung. He picks up at the 5th ring.

"Hobi?"

"Hyunggggg," I laugh cheerfully.

I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. "Hoseok-ah, what's going on over there? We're still at the airport. Carmele's bias happens to be Taetae."

My curiosity quirks at that. "Do you think he's gotten over Sofia though?"

He sighs, "I don't know but maybe this could work. He clearly has a thing for her. She wears a lot of Gucci."

I smile, "Hyung, I met a girl just now."

He immediately answers back, "You did? Who?"

I glance a the bathroom door. "She's an intern here. Jeff just keeps harassing her. She's dim and so  _so_ unhappy, hyung." I frown, laying my back on the couch.

"Then help her. I think I know her. Cristine... Khristina? isn't it? She brought me coffee once, even when I asked Jeff. She looks sad but I can tell that she's really nice. Fierce." He laughs.

I nod eagerly regardless of him not being able to see me, "She'll look even more pretty when she smiles. I  _will_  help her. But for the record, hyung, it's Khristine."

"Good. I gotta go now, hyung. Jiminie needs help with something." He says and ends the call even without having to hear my  _cheerful_  goodbye. I was about to call him back just to say goodbye but Khristine steps out of the bathroom. Her hair damp and she's wearing my sweater. She still looks pretty. But she's not smiling and that's what I want to do.

I'm going to make her  _smile._

 


	20. chapter 20

**J.JK**

 

We had a great landing. Surprisingly, I didn't hear Taetae hyung scream or whimper. As soon as the seatbelt sign disappeared, I was up and taking my bag out of the storage bins. I help Jieun noona in getting her bag out which she shakes her head to and mutters under her breath, "Gentlemanly bastard."

I bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud and sit back down. We usually leave the plane once everyone else has moved out. I stand back up and look for Tae. He's talking to Carmele noona, he's laughing ... Are they holding hands? He catches my stare and he grins. "We're going to Panda Express!"

Jin hyung rolls his eyes but nods along with Jimin hyung. I just walk over to him and give him a high five. "Is it okay with Carmele noona, though?" I ask.

She slaps my shoulder in shock. "Excuse me!? I love Panda Express!" She pretends to cry in insult. I laugh and start moving because the pilot comes over to tell us it's okay to get down.

The gentle morning breeze brushes against my cheeks as soon as I step out. It's dawn here in LA. We get escorted by guards as we walk out off the plane and into the airport.

"Who's picking us up?" I ask Jin hyung who's flinging himself unto a random pink couch.

He snaps his attention to me and he seems to look behind me. "Lee Jieun is the one who arranged our transport," he winks. I turn to her raising my eyebrows in question. She just shrugs and grins.

We sit around for a bit, either on our phones or getting food. I'm messing with noona's hair, twirling it around my finger. It's smooth, silken and soft. I take a bigger lock of hair and continue twiddling with it. It's thick too. Even though my face is not that close to her hair I can smell it. Her hair smells good, like flowers and fruits combined. She just—

A scream cuts off my string of thoughts. Carmele noona launches herself forward. Her things that were once resting casually on her thighs are now lying on the floor scattered. We hear an excited male chuckle before we notice what she screamed about. Two guys. We all stand up and watch as Carmele noona flings her arms around his neck and wraps her legs around his hips. She's sounds like she's both crying and laughing. As we walk closer to them I see that I know these two guys. It's Vernon and Joshua from Seventeen. Vernon is laughing quietly at the side at the two. Carmele noona is still not letting go and Joshua's head is buried in her curly hair, arms wrapped around her tightly. I sneak a sideways glance at Taetae. His face is curious and confused.

"Okay cut it out you lovebirds! We have other friends, care to acknowledge each other?" Jieun noona claps her hands loudly and pinches Carmele noona's waist area. She scowls but untangles herself from Joshua.

She smiles at us sheepishly. "Guys, you probably already know Vernon." She walks over to Vernon, giving him a hug before walking back to Joshua, "And Joshua, my boyfriend."

_Boyfriend._

I take another side glance at Taetae hyung. His face is blank and unreadable.  _Oh._

We all give some smiles,  _how are yous_ and _hellos,_ before leaving for the cars. We take two separate cars. Jin and Jimin and Yoongi hyung and Vernon get in the black SUV while Jieun and Carmele noona, Taetae hyung, me and Joshua get in the black Limousine.

Taetae is very friendly. He has so many friends, he smiles all the time, and hangs out with other people too. The thing that unnerves me right now, is that he's not doing any of those things. He's sitting down, quiet, earphones plugged in and tapping away on his phone. And to think that most of the Seventeen members are our friends. He's not talking to Joshua. And he's not even talking to Carmele noona.

He was in a secret relationship with a girl before, Sofia. He was head over heels for her and she for him. The thing that separated them was time and distance. It just wasn't working. Sofia was the first to break it off. As much as it hurt him horribly, he complied. He knew it was gonna be better off that way since they were both working hard for their careers.

Ever since Sofia he hasn't tried again. I think he's scared. And I knew for a fact that he liked Carmele noona in the short time that we knew each other. But now that we know she has a boyfriend...

 

He's completely shut down.

 


	21. chapter 21

**J.JK**

 

"So, have you guys heard from my girlfriend? She's working as an intern in your company," Vernon suddenly blurts, a little too eager to question us. "I mean  _ex girlfriend_."

Yoongi hyung's attention perks at that. "Intern ... She doesn't happen to be named Khristine, does she?"

Vernon nods, "Khristy," something like sadness flickering in his eyes, he's quick to hide it. "How's she doing?" He asks instead, poking around on his Panda Express takeout. We're all in one room in a hotel, eating some Panda Express.

"Hoseok met her—uh—she's kind of going through a rough patch though." Yoongi hyung says grimly, making Vernon frown. "But don't worry, Hobi told me he's gonna make sure she'll be back up and smiling."

_I know Hobi hyung well enough to know that he's now taken an interest in her._

I didn't bother to voice out my suspicions.

"Why, what happened?" Vernon asks, worry clearly—so  _clearly—_ etched on his face.

Jin hyung instantly cuts their conversation. "Let's not ruin the mood guys. That's a conversation for another time." He smiles sheepishly. His eyes flicker to me for some help.  _So Hobi hyung told him then. I'll make sure to pester them about it later._

"Yeah, hyung's right. We can talk about that later. Let's see what Khaled has in store for us in the meantime." I say with a nervous laugh, turning to one of our manager hyungs. They hand me a pink glittery card.

_Yes, you read that right. A. Pink. Glittery. Card._

The others have shocked expressions at the pink glitter card thingy, Jin hyung being the only different one since he held the expression of a giddy little girl in preschool.

"Well? Are you just going to keep staring at it or are you going to open it?" Jieun noona scoffs, puffing out her cheeks in impatience.

I laugh and wink at her, making her turn pink. I open the card and there it is. Our first activity in the states; sprawled over the center of the card in a black sharpie.

I read aloud, "Go on a trip to James Corden's show and prank him."

Audible gasps reverberate around the room.

I look up to see Jieun noona's face pale, "You guys might be fine with it but I've never met him before! I can't do this. No. No way." She shakes her head frantically, her breathing starting to get uneven. She sits on the ground, burying her face in her hands. I quickly jump out of my chair and over the couch, getting down on my knees. I push her hair out of her face and cup her cheeks in my hands.

"Hey hey hey hey. It's okay. I'm going to be with there every second of the way. We all are. It's just going to be a prank anyway," I say soothingly, laughing a bit. I gently stroke my thumb over her soft cheek. She opens her eyes a little, puffing out her lips into a pout.

"Oh come on, noona," I roll my eyes at her. "You know full well that when you make a face like that I can't really find the will to argue with you." I pout back at her.

Her pout turns into a wide giddy smile and it's her turn to grab my face in her hands, cooing. "Okay fine, I'll go. You know I can't resist your cuteness, Kookie." She giggles, suddenly kissing the tip of my nose.

I pretend to scrunch up my face in disgust, wiping my nose with my hand. "Ew, noona. I'm not cute. I'm supposed to be hot."

She rolls her eyes and wraps her arms around my neck, bringing her face close to mine. "You might be handsome, but to me you're cute as a bunny, Kookia~ah." She laughs, pulling away an arm to gently pinch one of my cheeks.

"STOP THE PDA AT ONCE! THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THE ROOM, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!!" Carmele noona roars. We both turn to her. She's covering Joshua's eyes and slapping a hand over Taetae hyung's. Yoongi hyung is laughing quietly as his arms casually rest on Jiminie hyung's shoulders. I hear a faint click and my eyes flick to Jin hyung who's shoulders are bobbing up and down in obnoxious laughter. He'd just taken a picture. He grins evilly and says, "It's for when my grandkids ask about how their  granduncle became an international playboy."

Jieun noona explodes in laughter.

 


	22. chapter 22

**K.C**

 

It's been 2 days since I met Hoseok. And in those 2 days, I got transferred to a different department. One where Jeff wasn't there, and one where the supervisor was kind and gentle. I got to do some work instead of just serving coffee and noodles. Not once did I see Jeff.

Now, I'm taking papers to RM's studio. I reach the front of his door. I've never done this before. I lift my hand to knock on the door but a hand reaches out from behind me and unlocks the door. I turn my head to see who opened the door for me. Hoseok.

He's smiling widely. "Well, go on in," he chuckles.

I give up a close-lipped smile and step inside. The soft creak of the wooden floor tells me he's following me inside. RM's back is turned to us but his attention shifts to us.

"Sir Kim, I—uh—I have some papers from the Advertising Department," I say, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, thank you so much. And please, just call me Namjoon." His deep voice rumbled gratefully. I nod once and hurry for the door. Before I could touch the handle, warm fingers wrap around my wrist. My head quickly snaps back, staring into Hoseok's eyes.

He's smiling. He's  _always_ smiling. "Hey, do you want to grab coffee with me?" He says quietly, the smile still on his bright face.

I shake my head, forcing a small smile on my face. "That would be nice but I have work to do." I drop my gaze to the ground.

"Surely that can wait. Come on," and he's guiding me away. I don't have time to argue because by now he's just dragging me along with him to their lounge room.

When we arrive he sits me down on the couch and proceeds to make coffee.

"I had you moved to another department, somewhere Jeff isn't," he turns, leaning back on the table. I lace my fingers together on my lap and bite my lip. "How is it?"

"I don't need you to make my life easier. Thank you but I would really like it if you left me alone." I say sharply, standing up quickly.

He seizes my arm. His eyes are pleading but he still has a small apologetic smile on his face. I sigh and let him guide me back to the couch. He pours the coffee into two mugs. He hands me one. I take it and wrap both my hands around it, feeing the warmth seep into the skin of my palms. He calls my name.

"Yes?"

"Excuse me for asking, but why are you so glum?"

I blow the steam rising from my cup before looking up to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be mean to you." I shake my head at myself. "I just want to stand on my own two feet." Vernon and I's relationship was ... bad for us. Too much. He cared about me too much. He did everything and anything for me and that's not at all good. Love can bring destruction as much as it can bring euphoria.

He chuckles. "You can. You always can. But you don't need to be alone, you can have help and friends, you know?"

"I know," I say, looking up and blinking the tears that had started to form away.

I hear shuffling and Hoseok's face appears in front of mine. He takes my cup and places it on my table. He takes my hand, making me stand up and then he pulls me to his body in a hug. He's warm and comforting. I couldn't stop myself from leaning into his warmth.

"Don't cry. Right now you're hugging a stranger. To make it less weird would you be willing to call me your friend?" He laughs. Just the sound of his laughs makes me pull away and laugh softly, a small smile on my face. Small but genuine.

"See, I always knew you'd be prettier when you finally smiled." He laughs again, making me blush but smile nonetheless.

"Yeah, you can be my friend, Hobi," I say.

"Great! Now, you're coming with us back home. We're gonna binge-watch some movies. Work is making you way too much like the Grinch," he smiles before scrunching his nose in disgust.

I couldn't help but laugh again.  _A new friend_. "What if I get fired?"

"You definitely won't," A deep voice suddenly breaks our conversation. Namjoon. He smiles at us, "The car's ready. Khristine noona, you can just do your stuff later, I already told the supervisor."

_Wow, they really had this planned._

Hobi extends his hand with a wider set smile.

I take his hand.

_They looked handsome af anyway._

 


	23. chapter 23

**K.C**

 

At the first sight of their home my breath caught in my throat. It was beautiful. And I don't mean the pretty ornaments. It was warm, cozy and ... nice. It was a place that was filled with memories. It was lively. I could feel the thrum of laughter and love _._

****_I know, I know. I'm a tad bit too cliché sounding._

Their house is incredibly home-y. It looks exactly like what a house would look like with 7 brothers running about in it. I stifled a laugh at a random tiger stuffed toy.

I feel a hand close around my wrist and I'm whisked away with a chuckle. I stifle a laugh when I see that Namjoon's room is filled with Ryan stuffed toys. They're all in different sizes, different outfits and different little expressions. He also has loads of gadgets, which I'm guessing is for making music. He's already sprawled out on his bed stomach flat on it and facing the TV. Hoseok brings me to the bed with them and I see that Namjoon is scrolling through Netflix.

"What should we watch?" He asks.

I simply hum.

"What's good right now?" Hoseok asks, hitting his thigh.

"I heard that  _Riverdal_ e is nice. Do you know about the  _Archie comics_? Yeah, they got  _Riverdale_ from there. And oh, I heard that  _To All The Boys I've Loved Before_  is good too. It's actually a book trilogy." He explains, showing us his phone with pictures of  _Riverdale_ and _To All The Boys I've Loved Before._

"I've heard of  _To All The Boys I've Loved Before_! Let's watch that one!" I say excitedly. Hoseok laughs a little before he grabs the remote from RM's grasp and clicking on the movie.

 

**

  
**J.HS**   
**_(A little bit into the movie...)_ **

 

"OH MY GOD!! Hoseok~ah! The letters are out! Lara Jean's letters are out!! What'll happen to Josh?!!!!" Khristine screams, her hands fisting on the back on my shirt since she was leaning on my back while I laid flat on my belly with Joonie. She's shaking me violently.

"Noona!" Joonie laughs loudly, "Chill! Lara's probably gonna be fine. She'll be with Josh. I have a feeing."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! She should be with Peter Kavinsky!" She yells at him, eyes blown wide with the shock of what he just said. He shakes his head at her. She glares at him, but I can hear her crumpling the pillow with her hands. She wants to hit him with the pillow.

**_(A few more moments into the movie...)_ **

"Okay, Peter is still so obviously obsessed over Gen! This is why LJ should date Josh! Josh is so clearly the perfect guy here!" Joonie complains, rolling his eyes at Peter Kavinsky.

"NAMJOON, WHAT THE FUDGE DID YOU JUST SAY?!!! Lara Jean belongs with freaking PETER K!!" Khristine's eyes glare holes into Namjoon's forehead.

"Noona," he gives her a lazy smile, "Josh is obviously the better man." He wiggles his brows.

Khristine looks like she's about to explode but she, instead, recollects herself. "Well, I believe in Peter. F you. Hoseok, Peter K's obviously the one, right?" She pats my back, hoping for my answer to agree with her ship.

I let out a laugh before responding, "Yeah, Joonie. Khristine's right. I really actually do think that Peter is going to get Lara Jean," I smile and nod.

He just groans and rolls his eyes, "You're just saying that because you like noona. If Jinnie were here, he would agree with me," he grumbles.

I hit his head, "Yah! I know you guys are practically married but he's still your hyung. Save your nicknames for the bedroom."

Even in the dim light I can see his blush. "N-no. It's not like that. Just carry on with the movie." He quickly changes the topic, turning his attention to the movie... but not before he mutters under his breath, "Josh is way more handsome than Peter Kavinsky anyway. Peter looks like a toad."

_Oh shit._

Khristine responds to this by whacking him with a pillow. Hard.

You probably already know that I'm laughing my entire existence into Osaka.

Before she misses any more scenes of them movie roll over and grab her in my arms before rolling over again. She's under me, caged and forced to not move.

"You can hit Joonie later but if you keep doing that now, you'll miss parts of he movie and you won't get to see Peter with Lara Jean. You don't want that now do you?" I smile at her struggle to untangle from me. She sighs, her warm mint-smelling breath fanning my face. "You're right," she gives in before moving to face the TV. I loosen my arms and wait so she could easily move out of my embrace. She doesn't. She just stays in place, cooped up in my arms.

And I smile at the hammering of my heart.

I'm starting to like her.

_And I'm actually looking forward for it._   
  



	24. chapter 24

**J.JK**

 

The building of Corden's show is very large. It's buzzing with people. The hair and makeup room is, fortunately, less hectic than the outside. Corden's manager is talking us through the sequence of events in his show. When we arrived, it was exciting, everyone was excited to meet us and everyone was fawning over Jieun and Carmele noona since we never really have brought girls with us except for some staff members. Everyone was asking who's girlfriend is who. 

The prank depends entirely on reaction. If we don't get the proper reaction we need, the entire prank will fail. Carmele noona, Jin and Jimin hyung will be with the staff sitting along with the audience while Suga and Taetae hyung, me and Jieun noona will come onstage as surprise guests. Corden will be surprised but greet us with open arms nonetheless. We'll start talking on the spot and suddenly Taetae hyung will pretend to have a seizure, Corden will have to panic along with the audience. That is what we're relying on. The reaction of James and the audience; and probably also Taetae hyung's acting skills.

Right when he's about to call for an ambulance, Taetae will get up quickly and announce that it was all a prank. If this goes well and according to plan, then things will go smoothly. This prank is disclosed between me, Suga hyung, Taetae hyung, Jieun noona, our managers and Corden's staff.

The stylist adds her finishing touches to my hair and I'm up and rehearsing the entire thing with Taetae hyung. He's jumpy, and a little nervous.

"What if he catches on quickly?" His brows crease together with worry.

I shake my head at him, "Listen, it's gonna be fine. Just do the thing you did at the end of Hwarang. The one where you died of poison."

His eyes light up and he's hugging me close, "I thought you said you didn't watch the show. You said that you guys were jealous of my Hwarang hyungs," he wiggles his brows at me.

I put my hand on his face, shushing him.

I turn to the door.

Let the prank begin.

 

**

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to the Late Late show!" James Corden appears and comes near his desk. He's smiling, everyone's clapping and cheering.

"So, tonight we have very special guests," he pretends to think vey hard and then he suddenly turn serious, "I believe we'll be meeting Donald Trump tonight," he says quite a matter-of-factly. The crowd boos and groans at him in dismay just at the mention of their president's name. I stifle my laugh. He bursts out laughing, and then he once again turns serious faced, "I'm totally kidding you guys, I would never let fake tanned baboons into my show." And the audience explodes in cheers and laughter.

"Now's the time. Go go go!" His manager whispers to us after tapping on Suga hyung's shoulder. RM hyung's not here to be our spokesperson but it's fine since we've gotten better at our English. I push past the heavy drapes and I interlace my hands with Jieun noona's. We walk out the curtains and I hear the crowd scream loud. Suga hyung smiles and raises his hand for a wave at our ARMYs. James looks confused, but as soon as he sees what the crowd is screaming for, his frown turns into a wide smile.

"Oh my God! What on earth are you guys doing here! Come, come, sit down!" He smiles, gesturing the couches before his desk, rising up and greeting us all warmly.

Once we've all seated and the crowd has hushed a bit. "Wha-what are you guys doing here? Oh my God, what a surprise!"

We all laugh, but I'm the one who speaks, "Uh yeah, we've come to surprise you. Although our leader, RM, and Jhope aren't here, Jin and Jimin are right there," I chuckle, pointing to where they're seated in he crowd. They smile and wave at him. Corden is beyond shocked, he covers his face with his hands. "Oh my God, you've caught me _COMPLETELY_ by surprise!" And the audience screams again. He turns to us and surveys us quickly, he sees Jieun noona. "Would you guys care to introduce yourselves to our audience?"

I turn to the crowd, "Hi my name is Jeon Jungkook, I'm the youngest member of BTS."

Suga hyung raises his hand at the people, "Hi, I'm Suga." The crowd goes nuts over his little gesture.

"Hey guys, I'm V!" Tae hyung says, doing the his iconic V sign.

"And who is this beautiful young lady?" James asks us, gesturing to Jieun noona, who's smiling shyly at him.

I take that as my chance to introduce her, "This is IU, she's a singer and actress in South Korea. She's our little bright star over there." I smile at him and then at her. The audience's scream is deafening. 

James has an undecipherable smile on his face but turns to her and says, "Welcome to LA and my show, IU."

She smiles at him brightly, "Thank you, it's been a pleasure being here."

James laughs, "Isn't she just a sweet, everyone?" He shakes his head smiling at the crowd which is, still, screaming like maniacs. And I don't know why but Tae hyung picked this exact moment to have a fake seizure.

He drops to the ground, shaking uncontrollably, you could see his pupils roll to the back of his head. I'm quickly there, holding up his head, shaking his arms, telling him to wake up. Our staff goes frantic since only our managers knew about the prank. Suga hyung is on his other side mumbling his name over and over. Jieun noona is pretending to be scared and shocked, her hand is clasped over her mouth and tears of fright are beginning to pool in her beautiful eyes. Jimin and and Jin launch themselves towards us, Jin hyung immediately calling someone on the phone, pretending that he's talking to our doctor. Jimin hyung walks off towards our staff and managers to talk to the after he brushes his hand against Tae's forehead.

I could hear Corden yell in scared shock. He's yelling. "Is he okay?" "Oh my God, what is wrong with him?!" "What the hell is going on?!" "Will someone please call 911?!" "Oh my God, SOMEBODY HELP HIM?!" "I don't know how to deal with this shit!!"

I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. The audience is in a blur. They're screaming, I can hear crying. I'm really impressed with Taetae's acting. He's still keeping up his fake seizure, not once faltering. Jin hyung is barking orders at some staff members. When the fact that the staff is too shook to function, he himself goes off on a hunt to find some ice.

"NO TAEHYUNG MY BABY!!!" I hear a fan scream in agony. Suddenly Taetae's entire back lifts of the ground and he falls back down, apparently unconscious.

_Damn he's good. I bet a million bucks our ARMYs are trending #GetWellSoonTaehyung on twitter again._

Suga hyung's wiping a wet towel with ice over his forehead after Jin hyung gives him the materials. I'm telling the people who attempted to crow over him to back off, I said that he needed space to breathe. Jieun noona's still pretending to be in shock. Corden is panicking like crazy, he's gotten a blanket and placed it over Jieun noona's shaking shoulders with a barked, "WHERE THE HELL ARE THE PARAMEDICS?!" I almost believe it's all real, Taetae hyung's gone pale as hell and he's dripping with sweat.

I notice the small moment when Taetae hyung creaks open his eyes and sneaks a wink at me and a small faint smirk. That's when I sigh in relief. I though he really did have a breakdown for a second there.

I hear foot stomps before I hear a loud, "Move," before I'm suddenly pushed to the side harshly. I turn back and Carmele noona is beside him.

_Oh shit._

We probably should have told her about this prank beforehand. I quickly move towards them but she shoots me with a sharp glare. She throws her leg over him, she's practically straddling him now. She bends down to rest her head against his chest. She closes her eyes for a  moment, and then she snaps right back up. "His heart is still beating."

Audible sighs of relief reverberate around the room.

She pulls at his arms so he's sitting upright. He's still pretending. I look back to see James completely pale, slick with sweat, practically chewing off his fingers.

He sags against her, his tall frame almost towering over her. She's cursing at him. "Taehyung you pig! What the hell did you do!? I told you to take it easy with the hot sauce! Sit upright! You need the oxygen to get in and out of you better." She demands, frustration clear in her voice.

But he plays on.

He's practically a vegetable against her. She's probably the world's best doctor, she'll figure it out. I think the thought races through Taetae's mind and I see perfectly when his cheek presses against hers, close to her ear. His lips look like they aren't moving, but they are. He's telling her the plan. I see her roll her eyes at him. And she pinches his thigh before she practically throws him in my arms. She stomps towards James Corden.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE?! I MAY BE A DAMN GOOD DOCTOR, BUT I AIN'T GOD!! CALL A FREAKING AMBULANCE! HE'S DYING!!" She yells at him. He honestly looks like he's about to cry. He nods frantically, before running off. Jieun noona runs towards us and she taps on his arm twice. The signal that it's time to end the prank. Tae hyung gets up quickly. Putting his finger against his lips at the audience, telling them to hush. Goofy smiles are plastered across their faces. The staff are practically laying down on the floor, grateful that it was all just an elaborate prank.

Carmele noona walks over to Taetae hyung who's smiling at her sheepishly. She glares at him, slapping his chest before giving him a hug. "You fucking scared the hell out of me, Tae!" She screams in his chest. He chuckles and wraps his arms around her. After a few more seconds and silent squeals from the fans, we start to slowly sneak towards James who was talking to a bunch of people, his staff probably. He's frantic, we could already hear his curses.

Taetae hyung taps him on the shoulder.

He turns around with a yelled, "WHAT?!"

He sees V hyung.

V hyung grins at him.

He looks so pale.

"Relax, Corden. It was just a prank." He laughs.

James Corden faints.

 


	25. chapter 25

**J.JK**

 

I roll over and throw my arm over Taetae hyung's stomach, making him wince and clutch his stomach. I sit up and face him. "What's the deal with you and Carmele noona?"

He fixes his shirt, and then his hair, "I don't know what you're talking about," he says, not looking at me.

I groan, "Quit the cover-ups! Come on, I know you! There's definitely something going on with you two!" I cover my face with a pillow in frustration.

"Well what about Hobi hyung and Vernon's ex girlfriend? There's something about that too!" He exclaims bitterly.

The door slams open and in comes Jin, Jimin and Suga hyung. "What's the yelling all about?" Jin hyung asks, eyes narrowed and hands on his hips.

I pout and point my finger at Tae, glaring at him as hard as I could.

Jin hyung turned to V hyung, "What's going on with you and the baby?"

V hyung explodes, "NOTHING!! I was just sitting here using my phone and listening to music! I didn't do anything to him! NOTHING!"

"That's exactly it!" I get up and yell at him, completely standing in the bed and towering over him while Jimin hyung's eyes widened. "You're being antisocial, Tae! SOMETHING'S WRONG! I just want to know because all these years you've told me everything and now you're tight-lipped!!"

Taetae hyung looks at me with pained and frustrated eyes. "I'm not the only one with a crisis right now! Didn't you see Vernon's face when Yoongi hyung told him that Hobi is hanging out with his ex? The ex that he  _CLEARLY_  hasn't gotten over?!" He yells out, rubbing his hands over his face in aggravation.

Jin hyung lets out a sigh and sits on the bed with me and Taetae, Jimin and Yoongi hyung following after him. Once we're all settled, Jin hyung says, "I will tell you about Hobi hyung's position right now, I'll tell you anything you need to know," he says to me and looks to Taetae hyung, "Taehyung, we only care about you, we always want you to be happy. I don't think you know how unusual it is for you to be quiet and uncommunicative. It's completely alien!"

Taetae hyung at last looks up to meet our eyes. He sighs loudly before laying down completely with a thump on the soft mattress. "I don't know what's going on with me," is all he says.

"What do you mean? Is this about Carmele?" Jimin hyung asks gently, careful not to set him over the edge again.

It takes him a minute to answer, "I think so. Ever since Sofia I didn't want to get into a relationship again. They're tiring and they're painful." He closes his eyes and sighs again, "There's just something different about Carmele, and I think—I think I like her." He drags his hand over his face harshly. "And I don't know what to do about it because she has a boyfriend! That _boyfriend_  happens to be my  _friend_!"

I wait a few seconds before I lay down next to him. "I'm sorry."

He turns and throws an arm and a leg over me and hugs me. "No, I'm sorry. I should have told you guys."

"Finally! The kids have made up!" Jin hyung cheers loudly making Jimin hyung laugh.

"Tell us about Hobi hyung!" Me and Taetae hyung demand at the same time.

It was Yoongi hyung who spoke first, "Khristine Callas, is an intern in BigHit and she also happens to be an intern for Jeff—"

"Jeff sucks," V hyung cuts in.

Yoongi hyung glares at him. "Let me finish," he hisses. "Khristine is Vernon's ex girlfriend. And since she was working for Jeff you can imagine how miserable she was. She and Hobi met when Jeff bumped into her in the hallway while she was carrying tons of coffee cups for Jeff," he sighs irritably, "the jerk yelled at her in front of a lot of people for ruining his "expensive" tie when all of the coffee spills. Hobi says he saw Jeff buy that tie from a nearby drugstore, mind you," he intensifies our dislike for Jeff by rolling his eyes. "Khristine is soaking wet whilst Jeff is barely scathed. He's yelling and yelling at her until he finally leaves. Khristine was wearing a white dress. And you know what happens to white clothes when they're drenched."

Jimin hyung gasps, "Her dress sticked to her body and turned a little see through, didn't it?"

Yoongi nods gravely. "Hoseok put his jacket around her quickly and brought her to our lounge. He let her clean up. He said that she looked so very miserable. She didn't smile at all. And that's what's going on now. Hobi wants to make her smile."

Taetae hyung grins widely, " _Aigoo~_  Hoseokie hyung is so sweet!"

"They've been doing a lot of fun stuff with Joonie. She's been smiling a lot now. Hobi had her transferred to a different department so she's been less stressed," Jin hyung says positively, nodding a little.

"But what's up with her and Vernon?" Jimin hyung asks.

Dead silence.

"That, is what we don't know."

 


	26. chapter 26

**J.JK**

 

"So, what're we doing today?" I ask Suga hyung before taking a whole egg and popping it into my mouth. He washes down the food in his mouth with some juice before saying, "Today's going to be our day. No plans, we decide. Tomorrow, he wants us to buy some soju and play a game of  _truth or dare_  here."

"Woaahh~ That's cool," Taetae hyung says after picking up his tray of food and placing it on the cart that room service left us.

I stand up and head to the sink to wash my hands. "Noona, are you done eating?" I call out to Jieun noona who was tapping away on her phone.

She looks up and nods at me with a smile. I dry my hands and go over to her, picking up her plate and putting it on the cart thingy. I then plop down on the gigantic bean bag beside the couch she was sitting on. She laughs at me with a muttered, "Stop being such a gentleman, Kookie~ah," and stands up, sitting down right next to me on the bean bag, snuggling into me. She puts her head on my chest and continues fiddling with her phone on my abdomen. I put one arm around her and the other over my eyes, readying for a quick nap. I'm about to slip into a good sleep but I'm suddenly wrenched away from that because Jieun noona starts to draw small little circles at the lower part of my stomach with her finger. I can feel my heartbeat grow faster.

_Dear Lord, why does she have to torture me like this?_

I bite my lip to keep from sighing. She puts a little more pressure on her finger, nearly making my muscles clench. If she moves a little lower she's going to wake up the little man downst— *cough*  _big_ man downstairs *cough*

_Noona! Please stop! You're moving on dangerous territory!_

And she moves her little motions lower.

Jeon Jr. is starting to wake up.

_Nooooooo!!!!_

She laughs against my chest. She has the freaking  _audacity_  to laugh. "Kookie~ah. Your heart is beating really fast. I wonder why," She laughs. I groan and wrap my fingers around her wrist, bringing her hand far away from the awakening Jeon Jr.

Just when she's about to complain and whine at me, the doorbell rings.

All our heads snap to the door and Jieun noona gets up and walks towards it with a cheerful, "I'll get it~"

"Psttt~" Taetae hyung quietly whispers. I look over at him to see him passing me a throw pillow saying, "I got you, man." I roll my eyes at him and mutter a quick thank you before placing the pillow on my lap, covering the evidence that Jeon Jr. was awake, and quickly thinking of grandma panties to make him go back to sleep.

"Namjoon? What're you doing here?!" I hear Jieun noona shockingly ask. And just like that Seokjin hyung is up and moving towards the door. Noona steps aside to let hyung open the door wider.  And indeed Namjoon hyung is there with a smile on his face.

Before Seokjin hyung could blurt out a series of yelled questions, Namjoon hyung envelopes him into a hug. "We missed you guys." Seokjinnie hyung freezes for a second before hugging him back muttering something indecipherable. I stay seated because of Jeon Jr. but Taetae, Yoongi, Chimmy and Carmele noona stand and to get closer to our unexpected guests.

"Hey guys!!" Hoseokie hyung's cheerful voice floats through the entire room. "Guys, I want you to meet Khristine. We decided that it would be loads of fun if we caught up with you guys," he says cheerfully, pulling a very pretty girl by his side. Khristine noona looks even prettier than what Jin hyung had described.

She says hello to everyone with a sort of casual yet shy demeanor. When Jeon Jr. has alas once again went into his deep slumber I quickly got to my feet and went over to the group, introducing myself to Khristine noona after all of them.

And more catching up happens.

 

**

 

"Kookie~ah, could you get me and Khristy some chips?" Jieun noona smiles at me from where se was sprawled on the bed with Khristine noona, bonding. She bats her eyelashes at me and pouts adorably, "Pleaaaaassseee??"

I stand up, rolling my eyes at her with a reluctant  _fine_  even though I'd literally get her anything. She bursts into a wide smile and she sends flying kisses my way, "Thank you, muscle bunny!!"

I'm smiling to myself as I'm walking to the mini-kitchen but when I get there my eyeballs nearly fall off their respective homes when I catch Namjoon and Jin hyung kissing.

Jin hyung's hips are pressed against the marble counter while Namjoon hyung is in front of him, arms wrapped around his Seokjin hyung's waist as he presses his lips to his tenderly yet filled with intimacy. And suddenly I feel as if I'm evading their privacy.

We all always knew that there was something going in between them. We always knew that they were crazy for each other. Even though we all know that they know about it, they haven't really done anything or said anything about the thing between them. I haven't seen them do anything beyond little touches here and there or hugs or just being close to each other.

Cheeks burning bright, I quietly bolt back to the room where the girls are. They're shocked to see me back so early. She sees that I bear nothing in my grip. "Why didn't you get chips?"

"I'll get you chips later, noona. There's uhmm ... uh ... there's a gigantic lobster fighting a llama for a mushroom in the kitchen!" I rush out, my entire head burning a bright red.

 


	27. chapter 27

**K.SJ**

 

I rinse my hands and grab the towel on the marble counter, drying my hands.

"Hyung," A deep voice rumbles from behind me.

I turn around to find Namjoon leaning against the wall. I smile at him, "Joonie." He smiles back and walks over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He hugs me tightly. I laugh at him, resting my forehead against his. "What's wrong?"

He smiles and shakes his head a little, "Nothing, hyung, I just—I missed you so much." I could feel butterflies in my stomach at his words. I put my hands flat on his chest whispering, "I missed you too, Joonie."

He pulls me against him again and says, "I missed you so much. I missed your voice, your squeaky loud laughs," he chuckles, "it's only been a little more than a week of not seeing you and I thought I'd lose it. It's cliché but it's true. I'm so damn grateful that Hobi hyung suggested that we come up here with you guys," he laughs again, making me laugh with him. "I bet that he saw how pathetic I was and he decided to finally end my misery."

I move my hands from his chest to his back, pulling him closer. "I'll remember to feed him more than usual then. I just kept worrying about what horrors you could have done to the house while I was away." I pout at him. "So you care more about the house than me?" He cocks an eyebrow at me. I laugh softly and decide to play along. "Maybe."

He throws his head back with laughter, looking back at me with a sparkle in his eyes. Eyes that were now looking at my lips and then at my eyes, my lips and then my eyes. "I bet the house doesn't want to kiss you as badly as I do, hyung."

I frown at him playfully, "That just sounds weird, Joon."

"It's true, though. May I kiss you, Jinnie hyung?" His voice lowers, his face inching closer to mine until we were nothing but a hairsbreadth away. I couldn't help but glance at his lips before looking into his eyes. "We can't, Namjoon. The kids are here."

He sighs, his breath minty with a hint of orange juice from breakfast. "We've done it before, hyung. Please let me kiss you. I miss you, hyung." He pleads, once again leaning his forehead with mine. His arm around my waist tightens and the other flies to my face. His hand cupping my right cheek. My hands that were once on his back now retreat to his chest. "No, joon. We'll get caught."

He groans in a little annoyance, "As if they don't already know, hyung. Even ARMY knows about us. We won't get caught, I promise. We'll be quiet." He promises.

"I don't know, Joon. Maybe we shouldn't." I say warily.

He sighs again, his warm breath fanning my face. "Please, hyung, please. I need you right now.  _I need you._ " He pleads, eyes downcast.

I breathe in and exhale, using my pointer finger to raise his chin and his eyes to lock with mine. It was always him. Always. I slide my hands onto the back of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. I close my eyes and press my lips against his.

His lips are soft and full against mine. He immediately leans into the kiss, his lips whispering my name as he moves. His other arm wraps around my waist, both arms now pressing me against him. The kiss is fire to my blood. Igniting every feeling and emotion for him, lighting it brighter and stronger. It's fire and it's light. The first time we kissed felt like it was raining fire, raining excitement, beauty and ... the kiss was just—him. I could feel him against me. His warm and hard body, molding into mine as if we were a perfect fit.

We both pulled away, panting for air.

"You're beautiful, Jinnie. Just beautiful," he says and collides his lips with mine again, making me smile and chuckle against his feverish kisses. "I know, right?" I whisper proudly, making him groan and glare at me, pulling away slightly just to say, "Don't ruin the moment." He kisses me again. He has a point. He just feels so damn good. I close my eyes again, wrapping my arms tighter around his neck. He nips at my bottom lip making me moan quietly. The little noise that escapes me makes him groan into my mouth, the sound a deep rumble from his chest. He tears away from my lips reluctantly, only to plant kisses down my neck, sucking lightly.

I bite my lip to keep from making noises that would surely get us caught. _My god, imagine the boys finding us making out in the mini-kitchen in a hotel._ The thought eddies away entirely when his teeth clamp down on the soft spot between my neck and shoulder. I wasn't able to stop the whimper that left my lips.

A sharp cough sounds.

Our heads snap towards the owner of the cough.

It's Yoongi and his cheeks are red and he's looking at anywhere but our eyes.

We both scramble away from each other, still panting.

Namjoon's shirt is all kinds of wrinkly, his hair is wild after the numerous times I ran my hands through it. His face is flushed, lips swollen and pink from all the kissing. His shirt had ridden up and not to mention the tightness of his jeans.  _If he looks like that then what the hell do I look like?_

"Uhm, I know you miss each other. We're all on board if you guys finally start going out and all," Yoongi says slowly, toeing the carpet, "but maybe it would be better if you got a room? Uhmm, you'd have more privacy and ... uh ... the kids like little Kookie wouldn't catch you and your private time."

"Yeah, you're right. Totally. We're sorry," I blurt out. Suddenly finding myself smoothening down my shirt and fixing my now too-tight pants. Yoongi smiles a little and walks off.

I look at Namjoon who's smiling sheepishly like a cute dork.

"You're lucky you're cute, Joonie," I glare at him.

"C'mon hyung," he says instead, taking my hand and leading us towards the doorway. "Let's get ourselves a room." I don't object and put on my shoes. Afterwards we quickly move towards the main room to collect out stuff when we bump in to Hoseok; who, when he sees our appearances, drops his phone and his jaw.

"Shit," I mutter.

"DID I JUST HEAR SEOKJIN HYUNG SAY A BAD WORD?!!" Taehyung's voice suddenly blares through the awkward silence.

 


	28. chapter 28

**J.JK**

 

"Hobi hyung's coming back with the soju by now, right?" Taetae hyung asks Suga hyung, who's slightly annoyed that Namjoon and Jin hyung have left all of us, the kids, in his grandpa capabilities.

"For the last time, Tae, he's coming." He closes his eyes and rubs his temples. He's been watching over us reluctantly since Namjoon and Jin hyung left yesterday, they were supposed to be on their way now as well, for the game of  _Truth or Dare_  Khaled wanted us to play. The doorbell rings and I immediately direct my eyes to Taetae hyung. He rolls his eyes and groans, "Ever since Hoseokie hyung and Khristine noona left, I've always been the slave around here!" He throws his hands up in defeat making Jieun noona giggle.

He gets up, rather sluggishly, and stomps towards the door. We hear the click of the doorknob opening and then a muffled squeal. Jieun noona and I lock eyes before quickly standing up and moving for the door. Carmele noona is wrapped around Tae like a clingy octopus. "Taehyungie!! I missed you so much!" She squeals, burying her head of curls into his neck. Even though hyung's back is to me, I can tell that he's flustered. "I-It's only been 24 hours, Ellie,"

_Ellie?_

_Does Taetae hyung have a nickname for Carmele noona now?_

"I know, but I missed you," she says anyway, gripping tighter around his neck.

"I'll get going now,Carmele~ah," someone says from the door. It's only then that I notice Joshua standing there, he probably brought noona here. I wave at him. He waves back. He leaves and shuts the door behind him after Carmele noona mutters a goodbye.

"Carmele, there are other people other than Tae, you know?" Jieun noona says, tapping her foot on the carpeted ground. Carmele noona untangles herself from Taetae hyung who's blushing like there's no tomorrow. She squeezes his cheeks before throwing herself at me, tightly hugging. I laugh before hugging her back. Jieun noona has a scowl on her face, I wink at her.

"Yah! Why are you so excited to see them and not me!" She whines, pouting and frowning cutely.

Carmele noona laughs against me before distancing and offering a small wave for Jieun noona. She runs away.

"CARMELE CHUA!! COME BACK HERE!!" She fumes, chasing after a bouncing curly haired woman. I was about to follow them back into the room but then a knock sounds. I look at Taetae hyung's face before moving to open the door. Jin, Namjoon and Hoseok hyung are standing outside with bags of beer bottles.

I bite my lip, "Are you sure we're all old enough for beer?"

Jin hyung looks at me like I grew a chicken wing. "Of course you're old enough! What the fudge are you talking about?" He shakes his head at me and walks past me and Taetae hyung.

"Seriously? When do you think you are allowed to drink beer? WHEN YOU'RE A HUNDRED YEARS OLD?!" I hear Seokjin hyung exclaim from inside the room.  
  
  


 


	29. chapter 29

**J.JK**

 

"Alright, so this is how the game is gonna go down," Jieun noona says, leaning forward. She clears her throat before she says, "So, some staff members came and gave me a stack of pink glittery cards," she raises her very thick stack of pink glittery cards. "These are from Khaled, and I'll be some sort of card master for tonight's game. I'll still be playing of course, but I'll be in charge of keeping you guys in check and making sure nobody chickens out. There are Dare and Truth cards," she gives her hand a little shake, "which are the only Truths and Dares that shall be used." She gives us all sharp pointed glares, I just give her a wink to which she glares even harder. "I shall not be swayed by any sort of bribery," a pointed glance at Taetae hyung and Carmele noona who gives her a lazy evil smile, "nor will I be a silent witness of any sort of craftiness." She coughs sharply.

She fixes the stack by loudly smacking one of its sides against the carpeted ground. She then picks out the top most card and puts it on her lap. She glares at all of us again before dividing the stack into two and putting it in the middle of all of us. She picks up the card on her lap and begins to read, "It says here that we need to be on the ground and forming a circle." And we are. We are all sitting down on the ground in a circle except Yoongi hyung who was leaning against a wall and Khristine noona who was watching from the bed. I move away from Jiminie hyung so that there's a space between and then I pat it, "Hyung, sit here." Yoongi hyung sighs before sitting down. "Khristine isn't joining?" Carmele noona asks.

"I'll just watch you guys. Besides, I should at least be here to haul your asses when you're all drunk dead," she laughs.

"You sure?" Hoseok hyung asks her. She just smiles and nods, taking a sip of her soda.

"Do we have all soju?" Jieun noona asks. We all nod, lifting up each of our bottles that we have started to drink. We all had 2 or 3 bottles each, it's our choice if we want to finish them all or if we want more. There's more in the mini fridge. "Alright. So, tonight we have no cameras. It's just us friends," she clarifies then proceeds to read through the card, "There will be embarrassing, juicy, exposing, and naughty Truths and Dares up a head so, be prepared."

Carmele noona whoops, "YEAH! MORE FUN!"

Jieun noona rolls her eyes before continuing. "Rules are : 1. All phones must be locked in the hotel's safe." We all groan but Jimin hyung stands up to collect our gadgets and locks them in the little safe hidden in the closet. "2. We must all do the dares and answer every question. If, however, the dare or truth is too extreme for the player, there is a punishment at the bottom of each card." I hear Namjoonie hyung take a long swig of his soju. "The last rule. Rule 3. Anything that happens here, stays here. And mind you, I, DJ Khaled, did not come up with these Truths and Dares, so don't blame me if something happens. Haha." She puts down the card and chugs down her bottle of soju. My eyes widen when she finishes the whole bottle in a span of 10 seconds. Whoops, claps, and shocked yells reverberate around the room. She laughs before she spins the bottle rapidly in the middle of our circle. "Whoever this bottle's tip lands on shall start the game." She says.

We all watch the bottle as it slowly spins to a stop.

 

 ** _(So hey guys_** 😅 ** _uhmm... the content starting here and lasting for a few more chapters or a few chapters away might not be allowed for certain readers to view. *cough cough* Well, when I say certain readers, I mean_** ** _YOUNG INNOCENT CHILDREN_** ** _. Let's just say there might be some mature content. Not really smut or lemons just, you know ... steam or sexual references maybe? idk. Alright so, viewer discretion is advised. If you don't want to read the nasty,_** ** _please move on to chapter 31_** ** _. I'll leave warnings on top of every chapter that involves anything rated - 18.)_**

 

The bottle lands on herself. She shrugs and smirks at Carmele noona. "Mel, Truth or Dare?"

Carmele noona smirks right back and says, "Truth."

Jieun noona picks up a pink glittery Truth card and reads, "What's the most awkward experience you've had with a crush?"

Carmele noona leans back and sips on her soju while she thinks for a while. "I think it was a dude named Henry Cahill. We were classmates in 7th grade when I studied in the states. We did seven minutes in heaven at a party and I kissed him."

Taetae hyung snorts. "Ellie, that's awkward?"

She glares at him, "Sweetheart, no. I wasn't finished. We made out. The thing is, I don't think he had much experience with kissing because eventually I felt his tongue go into one of my nose holes."

I spit out the soju in my mouth.

"Okay, ew."

"Carmele, what the hell?"

"That's gross."

"Okay, next. My turn," Carmele noona straightens her back and looks around the circle. "RM, Truth or Dare."

Namjoon hyung straightens his back before nervously saying, "Truth."

Carmele noona picks up another glittery Truth card. I sip my drink. "What's the most surprising thing that's ever turned you on?"

His cheeks burn. "What's the punishment if I don't say?"

"Oh come on, BOOOO!!" I yell at him, eyebrows furrowed.

Carmele noona flips the card around and reads, "You must drink toilet water."

"A banana. Don't ask." He quickly rushes out. Carmele noona snickers along with us before placing the card behind her.

"Jeon Jungkook, T or D?"

"Dare," I say bravely.

"Take off your shirt and tie it around the neck of the person to your right. If you don't do this you have to eat the boogers belonging to the person on your left," he reads from the pink glittery Dare card.

_I'm definitely not eating Taetae's boogers._

I turn to noona beside me. "Can I tie my shirt around your neck, noona?" She rolls her eyes and says, "Of course. I'm not about to let you chicken out, Kookie." She laughs. I smile before stripping off my black shirt and then messily tying it around her neck like a tiny scarf.

"Well, at least it smells nice," she titters.

"SEOKJIN HYUUUUNNGGG!!" I teasingly yell out.

"YAH! Shut up! This is still a hotel," he yells from across the circle. "Truth. I pick Truth."

I grin and take a card. "What's the most disturbing dream or fantasy you've ever had?"

He finishes his bottle and hiccups, "Well, I had dreamed of a banana on top of a motorcycle and woke up hard and, to this day, I still don't know why."

"Weird."

"Okay that's really random, hyung."

"I know."

"Jiminie, Truth or Dare?"

He jolts up a bit when he hears his name. He's getting a wee bit drunk. "Dare."

"Kiss the person you have a crush on in this room."

Heads snap towards him sharply.

"I can't do that. Not yet. What's the punishment?" He shakes his head with a small smile.

"It's a Truth question. Of all the people here, who would you feel most comfortable with naked?"

He laughs quite loudly. "Probably Taetae or Kookie."

"Ew." Me and V hyung say at the same time.

"Jeonggukie, T or D?" He asks.

"Truth, hyung." I say, opening up my second bottle of soju.

He freaking giggles when he reads the card.  _Freaking. Giggles._

"What's the biggest lie you've ever told without getting caught? And don't you dare chicken out!"

My cheeks burn but I force myself to take a few more sips of soju before answering, "I said that I've never done sexual intercourse." I rush it out, my voice low and soft.

"WAAAAAHHHTTT?!" Jimin and Carmele noona roar with wide eyes.

"I FREAKING KNEW IT! JINNIE, I TOLD YOU!" Namjoon hyung jumps up and points at Seokjin hyung.

"Wait, what? You had  _sex_  and you didn't tell me?!" Tae hyung looks at me like my skin turned from normal to green.

"How the hell has he kept that lie?" Yoongi hyung mutters to himself.

"Once. You've only done it once, right?" Hobi hyung asks, pointing at me with a damning finger.

My face feels hot all over but I found myself saying, "Around maybe 4 different times?"

"I should have known. Baby bunny isn't such a baby after all," Jieun noona laughs at me.

"It was the cute intern, wasn't it?!" Taetae hyung explodes, a weird vein bulging in his temple as he glares at me with his big ass eyes.

"Okay, next! That's enough," I laugh nervously. Shoving some chips into Taetae's gaping mouth. "Yoongi hyung, Truth or Dare."

He eyes me suspiciously before saying, "Truth."

Khristine noona asks from the bed, "Why do you guys keep picking Truth?"

"Juicier," Carmele noona answers.

"What's the most exciting thing you've ever done?"

"Roller coaster." He shivers at the memory.

"Dope," Carmele noona chuckles.

I groan. "Not juicy enough."

He thinks hard before saying, "I guess there was this one time," he says slowly and quietly, "I got myself off to the person I like."  
  
"Don't we all do that?" Jimin hyung raises his eyebrows at him.

Yoongi hyung locks his dark gaze at him, "I know, but I masturbated to the thought of the person I liked while the person was on the phone with me."

"So, phone sex?"

He shakes his head, "I was already hard because of the person and I was about to  _take care of it_  when the person called me." He shrugged. "I was jacking off while the person talked to me. And that person still doesn't know."

Hobi hyung laughs loudly and whistles. "Damn, bro. You must be whipped."

He bites his lip, nodding whilst looking down on the ground, "I know."

 


	30. chapter 30

**J.JK**

**_(_ ** **_ Warning! _ ** **_There may be_ ** **_ mature related statements or actions _ ** **_in this chapter. But, I don't really think it's_ ** **_ that  _ ** **_steamy tho. But if you can't handle the nasty, please move on to chapter 31.)_ **   
  
  
  
  
  


"Come on, Jimin-ah! The Dare card clearly said that you'd have to do a strip tease or suffer the punishment!" Carmele noona whines like a child.

Jimin hyung's entire face is flushed with embarrassment but he has a grin on his face that he quickly wipes away, "N-no way! What is the punishment anyway?" He's stumbling over his words as he shakes his tiny hands in front of his face frantically. I can tell he's drunk enough to say yes. He just needs a little pushing. He never says no to dancing.

"You'd have to make out with the person you like in this room, hyung. We both know you wouldn't do that,"  I answer for Carmele noona whilst laughing knowingly. If it's even possible, his cheeks burn even brighter.

"Guys, if he doesn't want to do it just pick someone else." Yoongi hyung grumbles in annoyance, downing his bottle of soju. Everybody frowns at him. Jieun noona, with her hands on her hips, says to him, "Oppa, we're all adults here and we all want to have a bit of fun. Loosen up a bit?" She tipsily gets up to open another bottle.

Yoongi hyung mumbles something undecipherable but he nods reluctantly anyways.

"MUSIC!" Hobi hyung yells a bit too loudly. We all cheer when Jimin hyung makes his way to the center of the circle. Khristine noona laughs a bit before playing a sexy song. It's not long before Jimin hyung is really getting into the dance. I see him smirk like he knows he looks good while he's thrusting his hips against the ground like a freaking stripper. He launches into a full fledged spin which earns lots and lots of cheers from the ladies. By the time his spinning has come to a stop his shirt has somehow run away from him, leaving him shirtless and his toned upper half bare for all of us to see. I roll my eyes at the familiar daring version of himself. He bites his lip before smirking and running a hand through his hair sexily. He winks at Taetae hyung and me. I don't know what happens clearly but we're suddenly spiked with adrenaline and both me and Tae are dancing  right beside him.

And then the music suddenly stops.

"Oppa! Come on, they looked amazing!" Jieun noona pouts at Yoongi hyung, whose cheeks are flushed a bright red. No doubt because of Jimin hyung's little show.

"Give chances to others," is all he says before sitting back down.

"OkaaaAAyy," Jimin hyung giggles shyly. And there's his shy side. He's drunk so instead of sitting down on the ground successfully, he lands right on Yoongi hyung's lap. I don't bother to voice out that I literally heard him whimper right before Jimin hyung says, "Oh, sorry, hyung." He blushes apologetically before moving away from hyung's lap and sitting on the space beside him. "I-it's alright, Minnie," he says, blinking a few times.

Jimin hyung smiles at him sweetly before turning his gaze to Hoseokie hyung. "Hyung! Truth or Dare?"

Hobi hyung already looks waaaayy too drunk but he still drinks more soju. "Dare!"

Jimin hyung picks up a Dare card before smiling when he reads it silently at first. "Eat a handful of uncooked noodles!"

"Do it, do it!~" We all chant. So he clumsily gets up, moves over to the table counter. Takes the instant noodles, rips it open with his teeth, pushes a hand inside it, and shoves the noodles in his mouth. We all explode in complete utter laughter, some of us nearly crying at the sight. Hobi hyung chokes on the noodles and he quickly rushes to the bathroom.

We all get silent when we hear gag noises.

"Aw, he's not just vomiting the noodles. He's also vomiting all that alcohol out," Namjoon hyung laughs.

Khristine noona claps her hand once from where she's sitting on the bed. "Alright. Hoseok is out now. Clearly he's too drunk to function. I'll go get him. In the meantime, Kookie, ask Seokjin to restart the game." She orders and grabs a towel before going into the bathroom after J Hope.

I nod in agreement. Truth is, I'm not really drunk. I'm just pretending to be a little drunk. And I know,  _I know,_ I shouldn't trick them like this but I really want to actually remember everything that happens tonight. We're literally playing a  _dirty_ Truth or Dare game. The woman I like happens to be playing too.

I shake away my long stream of thoughts before they get suspicious. I make myself grin like an evil little devil as I glance wickedly at Seokjin hyung. He winks at me, a signal that he can handle anything I throw at him.

I raise my chin and speak. "Hyung, Truth or Dare?"

He raises his chin right back at me. "Dare."

I smirk before making a show of picking up the pink glittery dare card. I almost burst out in hysterics when the words in the card make its way into my brain. I make my face neutral and challenging again when I lock my eyes with Jin hyung's.

"What the hell could that dare be?" Hobi hyung croaks from where he's lying on Khristine noona's lap, cocooned inside a blanket.

"Pretend to relive your most recent orgasm or suffer the punishment of sexting your father."

His mouth drops open and the rest of the people in the room stills.

The hold on my laughter breaks when Carmele noona throws herself on the floor, laughing and wheezing like a maniac.

Jin hyung's cheeks are bright red but he still keeps his chin high. "Khaled is a jerk."

His statement just makes us all laugh harder than ever but with his desire to not back down, and the sheer grossness of sexting one's father, and also the because of the fact that he studied acting ...

He lets out the most sinful, most erotic noises I've ever heard come from his mouth. It made me realize that I'd never look at my eomma the same way again.

A few more very  _daring_ Dares and juicy Truths make their way through the depths of the night. Somewhere along the way some of us have eventually stopped drinking to avoid getting sick or passing out dead.

"IU, Truth or Dare?" Carmele noona asks teasingly.

"Dare!" She answers cheerfully.

"Ooooo! This is a good one!" Carmele noona nearly screams when she reads from the card.

"Sit on the lap of the person to your right and cuddle. You be the little spoon! The punishment is ... jerk off in a closet," she laughs devilishly.

My face heats up when I hear the punishment. "As much as I'd  _love_  to get myself off in a hotel closet when my friends are around," she says sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "I think I'd rather sit on Bunny's lap."

I laugh nervously when she gets up and smiles at me cutely before sitting down on my lap. She wiggles a bit for comfort—nearly killing me in the process—before grabbing my arms herself and placing it over her tiny waist.

"Hug me tight, Kookie." She smiles at me mischievously.

_Damn, this woman is killing me._

And I do. I wrap my arms around her tighter and lean my chin over her shoulder. "You know what, noona?" I say. She raises an eyebrow at me. "I think you're a bit too drunk." She curses at me when I take away her liquor bottle. But I just laugh and shake my head at her.

"You know what, Kookie?" She asks instead, moving her head back so that her face is closer to mine. "I don't think you're drunk at all. But don't worry. I'll keep your little secret." She winks at me.

_She is a force to be reckoned with._

"Taehyung~ah, Truth or Dare?" She asks with a giggle.

Taetae hyung lifts his head and points at her saying, "Trruuuuuthhh!"

She picks up a Truth card with a giggle, "Make-out with a girl of your choice."

His cheeks turn bright red and he shakes his head. "No—no way! What's the punishment?"

Jieun noona giggles before gasping dramatically when she reads the punishment. "Send nudes to your father and say it was an accident."

His face pales. He looks around the room. When I catch his eyes land on Jieun noona, I tighten my grip on her and glare at him.  _Back off, man._

He winces.  _Alright, sorry. Geez._

Be looks at Khristine noona and winces again when he sees Hobi hyung sleeping soundly on her lap. His gaze then shifts to the only remaining girl in the room, Carmele noona. His eyes widen.   _Carmele noona has a boyfriend._

Noona seems to notice and growls, "Just get on with it, Tae."

He shakes his head like a wounded puppy. "You have a boyfrie—"

He didn't get to finish because noona was already fisting her hands into his shirt and kissing him. Hard.

His eyes grow wide but flutter shut when he realizes she's kissing him and he needs to kiss back. Everyone's clapping and laughing for a good 2 minutes when they finally pull apart. Taetae hyung's face is flushed like noona's, lips red and swollen, hair mussed from the grabbing and both panting heavily.

Carmele noona smirks before saying, "Your turn, Tae."

It's like he snaps out of a daze and turns even redder. "JK, T or D?" He asks breathily.

"Dare," I laugh.

He nods and picks up a Dare card, laughing like a maniac when he reads it. "Mark a pretty lady of your choice or suffer the punishment of being nude during the remaining time we have left." He snickers.

_What the fuck?_

"I am not going nude!" I almost yell. "And I'm definitely  _not_  putting a  _hickey_  on someone!"

"Oh come on, Kookie," Jieun noona fusses, "You can make one on my stomach since the rest of the girls are taken."

I almost choke and die of a heart attack at her sudden declaration.

"Yeah, just do it, Kook," Jin hyung laughs, swaying slightly.

I open my mouth but no words come out.

She moves away from me and lays down on the ground, moving her shirt up a bit to expose a section of her toned stomach. "Just get it over with, Kookie."

I hesitantly move over her. "You guys sure about this?" I ask, secretly wishing they wouldn't do this to me.

_What if I do it bad?_

_What if I make her uncomfortable?_

"Kookie, we all know you can do anything. Just do it," noona says with a huff as if reading my thoughts.

I bite my lip before moving down and pressing my lips against the warmth of her smooth skin. I sigh and close my eyes. I pepper more kisses to her stomach before pressing open mouthed kisses onto it. It's almost like I'm making out with her stomach. Sounds weird but I'm trying my hardest not to get turned on. And that's very hard when you're putting a hickey on the person you like. I start to suck on a small part of her smooth skin, gently biting into her once in a while and dragging my tongue on her to soothe the biting and sucking. My hands unconsciously find their way to her hips, my grip nearly bruising as I fight to keep myself in check.

I hear a muffled, "Fuck," before biting again into her soft flesh.

"Okay, Jeon Jungkook, that's enough. I think Jieun is good for now," Yoongi hyung laughs.

I pull away and smile nervously, not once looking at noona for fear of seeing disgust and discomfort all over her face.

"I think she's a little  _too_  good," Jimin hyung giggles hysterically.  
  
"Shut up," Jieun noona flushes.

I sit back down to my place and let noona climb into my embrace before trying to control the rapid beating of my heart again.

Carmele noona suddenly says in a loud voice, "Guys, I have something I want to get off my chest." She visibly swallows hard but she sits properly and straightens her back.

"Mel, maybe you should tell us in the morning. You're already too drunk," Khristine noona says gently from behind us.

Carmele noona only shakes her head. "No, no, I trust you. You guys are great people to be around. You all are so—so nice," her voice cracks at the last part. She's tearing up. I can see Taetae hyung's face turn a little worried.

She takes a shaky intake of breath before raising her watery eyes to meet all of our worried gazes.  
  
  


_"I broke up with Joshua."_

 


	31. chapter 31

**J.JK**

 

_"I broke up with Joshua."_   
  
  


"Ellie... Come here," Taetae says gently, extending his arms for her. She takes a shaky inhale before biting her lip and leaning against Tae hyung's chest, letting him envelop his arms around her.

I immediately let go of Jieun noona to let her stand and move to go to Carmele noona. She frowns as she rubs on Carmele noona's arm soothingly. Khristine noona momentarily leaves the sleeping Hobi hyung to get a glass of water. She hands it to Jieun noona who gives it to Taehyung so he could make Carmele noona drink. Noona wipes away her tears before putting the rim of the glass to her lips. She drinks a few gulps before settling back into Taetae hyung's chest.

She puts her hands over her face and rubs at her eyes before letting out a weak laugh. At least her tears have stopped.

"This'll definitely sober us up," she laughs but no one else laughs.

"Ellie, you don't have to do this," I hear Tae hyung whisper. She looks up at him, his eyes search her face for any indication of pain. "I'm fine, Taehyungie."

She turns to us, patting her flushed cheeks before saying, "I just want to get this off my chest because I know I introduced him to you guys—literally—just a few days ago as my boyfriend." She clears her throat. "He was my boyfriend... but I-I broke up with him yesterday and asked him to keep it a secret for a little longer."

"Noona, wae?" I couldn't help but ask.

She smiles softly at me, "We were all so happy and I didn't want to ruin the mood. And I also wanted to forget about it a little more."

"Carmele, you know You don't have to pretend with us. We're friends now."

"We're here for you."

She nods gratefully. "Joshua and I have been together for 2 years. It was amazing and we were in love. Eventually I felt like the spark just wasn't there anymore, you know?" She sighs sadly. "I love Joshua so much... just not as my boyfriend anymore. I didn't tell him because he is so kind to me. He is so very loving. And he truly is a great person. I felt guilty." She smiles a close-lipped smile.

"It started 4 months ago. He was just ... different. He was still giving me his best. That's how good he is," she laughs. "I just felt it. He was different. I somehow felt that there was someone else that he liked or loved. I could just see it."

"He cheated on you?" Jieun noona asks quietly.

"Oh God, no. He wouldn't ever. He'd never hurt me. I saw the way his eyes lit up the way it hadn't in a while when we met one of his childhood friends who had moved back to Korea after moving to Africa when they were kids. And every time we met up with that friend, he was just different." She closes her eyes for a quick moment.

"Aren't you supposed to be happy then?" Taehyung asks her, rubbing his thumb soothingly against her waist. She looks up at him and smiles ... almost guiltily?

"I—uhm—I didn't tell him the real reason why I wanted to end the relationship. I just blabbered on and on about some stupid fucking reason that I can't even remember, and now I made him so sad," she laughs again but a tear rolls down her cheek. Taetae hyung's quick to wipe it away. "He's  _really_ sad."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Jieun noona asks her, a tad bit harshly.

She sighs for the nth time. "I didn't want him to feel guilty. Even if I tell him that we both needed this and that we'd be happier this way, he'd feel sorry. It's not his fault but he would feel guilty. And—and I want him to be happy."

Taehyung squeezes her tighter which makes her laugh. Quietly, but a laugh nonetheless. "He'll be happy, Ellie. You'll be too."

She smiles at him genuinely before declaring that we are going to have a Truth or Dare part 2 tomorrow.

We clean up our mess before parting ways for the rest of the night. This insanely large suite happens to have 3  rooms. Yoongi hyung and I will share a room, Taetae hyung has his own, Jieun noona has her own as well. That leaves the rest of the gang to move into their own rooms outside the suite.

 

**

  
**K.TH**

 

"Taehyungie, can I sleep here? I was staying with Joshua but ... you know," Ellie says, plopping down on my bed, rubbing her face with her small hands.

"That's okay. You want me to tell J noona that you're crashing in her room?" I glance at her before stripping of my shirt and picking up fresh ones from my open travel bag. I put the white shirt on before looking back at her.

She's gaping at me, "You  _did_  lose your baby belly."

My cheeks burn.

"Not a bad look though," she lays back down on my bed. "Can I sleep here with you?"

My head snaps to her direction. "I just want to be with you?" She smiles sheepishly as if that was good enough reason to spend the night with me. "I just don't want to bother Jieunnie, and I know that she'll be talking to me for the rest of the night and all I want right now is rest." She sighs heavily, slapping a hand over her forehead. "I'm fucking wasted, Tae."

I dig around my bag for boxers and a shirt. I throw it at her. "Change into some of my clothes, your clothes are dirty and you know it," I don't have to look at her to know that she rolled her eyes again. "I'll pick your stuff up at Joshua's place tomorrow so you don't have to see him." I sit beside her on the bed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it on the carpeted floor, also stopping by the bathroom to grab the extra towel so I could use it as my blanket.

She rises from the bed, about to go to the bathroom but stops when she sees me sitting on the floor. "You can sleep on the bed with me, you know?"

I shake my head at her, "I'm fine here, Ellie. Just get some rest." I go back to fixing my newfound sleeping place.

I freeze when she wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me from behind. "Thank you."

"It's nothing, Ellie," I can't help but smile.

I feel her shake her head against the back of my head.

"It's not just nothing. Thank you."  
  
  


"You're an angel, Kim Taehyung," she states before moving away.  
  
  
  
  


 


	32. chapter 32

**K. TH**

I wake up when I feel heat on my face. I forgot to close the curtains last night. I scramble up to shut out the sunlight when I realize that Ellie's still asleep. She'll probably wake up with a mad hangover since my head is throbbing right now. I take one last look at her peacefully sleeping state before grabbing my clothes and slipping into the bathroom.

After I shower I change into an oversized hoodie and some black jeans. When I get out, she's still sleeping, the only difference is that she's snoring lightly this time. I unconsciously smile before sneaking out the room.

I rummage through the small medicine bag Seokjin hyung had left us in case of emergencies. I take out two aspirins. I shove one in my mouth and swallow it with some water. I bring the other to my room with a glass of water and put it beside Ellie for when she wakes up with that insane hangover. I sneak out quietly again before bursting inside Jk and Yoongi hyung's room.

When I see that only Jk's bed is occupied and that Yoongi hyung isn't even here at all, I scream, "KOOOKKIIIEEEEEE!!"

I was about to jump on him but then stopped—horrified—at the sight.

_What the fuck?_

"N-NO—NOONA?!!!!"

I jump back a few steps when I see a sleeping Jieun noona wrapped around a sleeping  _shirtless_  Jeon Jungkook. She creaks open a narrowed eye at my outburst, fisting a pillow and throwing it harshly at my face, making me tumble down to the floor. She slaps a hand on the waking Jungkook's face.

"Jeon Jungkook." She grumbles. "My head is shit. I need sleep. Make Kim Taehyung shut his pie hole." She glowers at me before disappearing under the mountain of fluffy blankets and plush pillows.

"Okay, okay," Jk caves in, standing up and ruffling his hair before picking me up by my hoodie and dragging me outside.

I'm still in shock at this point.

"Would you quit making that face? It's annoying." He rubs his eyes and yawns.

"Wha—what the hell dude? WHY IS NOONA IN YOUR ROOM?!"

A loud thud from his room. And a female scream pierces the air.  _"SHUT UP!"_

I close my mouth.

"She wanted to talk about things and I guess we fell asleep." He shrugs. "What do you want?"

I shake my head before deciding that I'd bother him about that later. "Come with me to Joshua and Vernon's place. I need to pick up Ellie's stuff so she doesn't need to see him for now."

He finishes rubbing his eyes, nodding.

"Where's Yoongi hyung anyway?" I ask since he wasn't in their room.

"He crashed in Namjoon and Jin hyung's room because he said he needed sleep and he couldn't stand listening to our "gossip"."

I nod.

"Take a shower and then let's get going."

I look at his direction to find him slipping on some sweat pants and a hoodie to match out of nowhere.

"You're not even going to shower?" I raise a brow at him.

He rolls his eyes at me. "We'll just be quick, right? I'll shower later. Besides, I showered last night." I sigh internally before grabbing one of the key cards Seokjin hyung left on the counter.   
  


**

"They're staying in this hotel?" He asks as we wait for the elevator to arrive on Joshua's floor.

I tuck my hands in my pockets before saying, "I guess so."

He nods at how lavish the hotel looks. "I bet that this hotel has a sick gym, though." He sighs sadly. The hotel we're staying at only have some weights and treadmills, and _we all know that he loves his muscles._

"Let's go." I pull his arm when the doors ding and open.

"What room are they in again?"

I take out my phone from my pocket and scroll through the details Ellie had sent me yesterday night before she passed out dead. "Room 502."

"Oh, it's right here." He says, surprised, when we immediately find the room.

Jeongguk lifts his fist up to knock on the door but then ducks behind me shyly. "Hyung, you knock on the door," he says. I was about to knock but then he says, "While you're here, can I go check the gym? I'll be back here before you finish getting her stuff. I promise." I mutter an okay before smiling at his excited face. Not wasting any more time, I knock on the door. A minute passes and I'm about to knock again but the lock clicks and the door opens to reveal Vernon. His hair is messy and his eyes are dark but I smile and bow at him.

When his eyes meet mine, I can clearly see the way his jaw clenches and the way his eyebrows knit together. I shift awkwardly when I realise that he doesn't look confused. No, he looks angry.  _Did I interrupt something?_

"Hey," I raise a palm in greeting.

I don't miss the way his fists curl up tightly.

"What are you doing here, Kim Taehyung?" He asks, a bit too stiffly.

I smile at him sheepishly. "I was just going to pick up Carmele's stuff. You probably already know why." I explain.

_Is he glaring at me?_

"Why?"

_Did he just ... scoff at me?_

"I ... uhm ... Joshua and her broke up?" I shift my gaze to the ground. And then I realise.  _Why the hell am I acting like a shy kid?_

"Vernon~ah, are you okay?"

He laughs bitterly before connecting his dark gaze with mine again. "Am I okay? You're asking me if  _I'm_  okay?" He moves past the door and closes it behind him, stepping closer to me. I hold my ground.

"You're asking me if I'm okay when my best friend is  _crushed_ because _you_  stole  _his fucking girlfriend?"_  He seethes, staring me down.

My mind just goes blank. "What?"

His fist roughly comes in contact with the side of my jaw, making me rock back sideways. Instinctively, my hand goes to wipe the wet trail of fresh blood that's trickling down my chin. I barely have time to register the pain when he punches me again. I struggle to keep myself from falling to the ground. I can taste my blood in my mouth. I see his fist move to hit me again.

This time, I move a little to the right, missing his strike by just a hairsbreadth.

"What the fuck, Vernon!" I yell at him.

He bellows at me madly, "You ruined a perfectly good relationship, Taehyung! You think I don't know that you stole Carmele away from Joshua?" He punches me in the stomach, making me double over. I press my palm against the ground as I try to regain my strength, as I try to ignore the pain.

I stagger upright, my clenched fist striking his face, making him stumble down.

"You asshole," he spits, blood dribbling down his nose.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Vernon?" I try to stand up properly, my hand clutching my gut in pain. "I didn't ruin their relationship!"

He scrambles up, swinging his fist at me again. I manage to doge it again only to throw another punch at him. He growls at me when he spits out blood on the floor. He charges straight at me, his fist hitting my left temple.

There's a ringing in my ears but I stand my ground, refusing to back down.

"I would  _never_ ,ruin _anything_ for Carmele, so watch your fucking mouth!" I roar at him.

He screams right back at me, "But you did! You're the reason why my best friend is broken! You broke him! _You stole her from him_!"

All I see is red. I storm towards him, kicking him square in the chest.

"Hyung!" I hear Jungkook's alarmed scream but his voice is hazy.

Vernon curses at me before hitting me back. I spit out blood.

"Hyung, that's enough!" Jungkook is behind me now, holding me back by the arms. My eyesight is blurry but I can see that someone is dragging Vernon back as well.

"JOSHUA, LET ME GO!! HE DID THIS TO YOU!!" He thrashes.

I wince at the pain all over my body but I spit out, "I didn't steal her away from him. I didn't seduce her or force her to do anything she doesn't want to do! Carmele broke up with Joshua for him! Carmele knows that he's in love with someone else. Their relationship hasn't been the same as it used to be. Their love _faded!"_  I scream angrily. "Joshua knows that! I don't know what reason Ellie gave him when she broke up with him but I know for a fact that she cares about him so fucking much! Have you even thought about how much it pained her to  _lie_  and potentially lose one of the most important people in her life just to attempt to make it easier for him? To make him _happy_? She didn't tell him this because she didn't want Joshua to feel guilty for loving someone else!" I pant raggedly.

"Hyung, let's just go," Jungkook pleads.

I wrench my arm from his grip, "No! Let me tell him!"

I take a shaky breath. "Carmele broke it off because they would both be happier that way. I know that she should have told him but she tried. She tried to make the pain less for the both of them. It's not her fault. It's not Joshua's either." I clench my fists.

_"So don't fucking blame me for a bullshit scenario that you created, Vernon!"_

I wince at the pain in my ribs and I let myself fall to the ground. Jungkook's immediately there. I let him help me stand. I look at Joshua's tear stained face. "I promised her I'd get her things." I say quietly.

He nods at me once before dragging a limping Vernon into the room with him.

Jungkook leads me to the wall across their room door. I sit down and lean against the wall.

"What the hell happened, hyung? I left for a minute and you get beat up?"

I close my eyes, swallowing the wince that almost made it's way out of my mouth.

"He accused me of breaking Joshua and Carmele's relationship."

"That's just bullshit." He says plainly.

"I know, right?" I laugh weakly.

"Totally," He cackles.

Our attention diverts to Joshua who is now dragging a black carrier.

"This is all of her stuff." He says, rolling it right next to Jungkook. He sighs before sitting beside me on the carpeted ground.

"I'm sorry about Vernon. He isn't supposed to be like this." He sighs sadly. "He's still recovering."

He sees Jk's raised brows.

"His girlfriend left him around 8 months ago. He obsessed over her." He answers before standing up. "I'll get him to come to his senses and apologise to you. You're a good friend, Tae." He says with a small smile, stretching out his hand for me and helping me stand.

"You should get going now before someone sees you. It'll be all over the news if someone manages to take a picture of you and all that blood." He says.

We nod and start walking away.

"Wait! Taehyung~ah!"

I turn back.

He's smiling but there are tears in his eyes. "Tell Carmele that—" his voice breaks, "tell her that I love her and that I said—I said thank you. For everything."

I smile and nod at him one last time before leaving.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so don't take this the wrong way. I don't hate Vernon and Joshua. I dunno I just thought it would be an okay enough plot to make them fight, I know I'm weird. Vernon isn't like this in real life. Duh. Sorry if it bothers you that I antagonised him a bit.
> 
> lots of luv💖💖💖💖


	33. chapter 33

**K.TH**

 

"Are you sure you wanna go in now? They'll be shookt to the heavens when they see you." JK asks for reassurance, worried eyes searching my messed up face.

I wave a hand, "It's gonna be fine. I don't look that bad."

He snorts, "Right." He slides the card key in the door, making it beep once before opening.

A muffled voice from the depths of the room. Jieun noona. "Jungkookie? Tae? Is that you?"

"Yep," JK yells before turning to me with frantic eyes. "Dude, she's gonna kill me. They're all gonna kill me for letting this happen to you just cuz I went to check on a gym. Can we like not go in?" He tries to push me back towards the door, sliding Iellie's bag to the side.

I'm about to yell at him in protest but I shut up when I hear hurried footsteps on the carpeted floor. "Kookie? Tae?"

Both our heads snap towards the owner of the voice. J noona's eyes widen as they look us up and down.

"What the fuck?"

Footsteps again. Someone's coming.

My eyes widen into saucers when Ellie comes into view, JK's grip on my arm tightening into a monster-like grip. Her hand flies to her gaping mouth when she sees us.

"Hi guys," I laugh nervously but wince when some part of my body throbs in pain.

JK tugs on my arm tighter, making me face him. "We need to go! They're going to eat us alive!" He harshly whispers in fright.

"Damn right we are," I hear Jieun noona growl and stomp towards Kookie, grabbing him by the bicep, and shooting a pointed glare at me. "Both of you, in the main room.  _Now_."

I wince.

 

**

 

When the four of us had moved to the main room of our gigantic suite, Yoongi had shuffled in quietly with a blank expression on his face. I stayed quiet as Ellie examined my body. I think she was checking if there were any broken bones. Whatever doctor-related thing she was doing, I didn't know. She didn't say a word to me. The eerie silence was driving me nuts. The pain in several parts of the body making it even more unbearable. She ran her lithe fingers down my chest and along my ribs. I flinch when her fingers dip into certain spots. She sighs shakily before she starts searching my face. My heart breaks when I see that her eyes are watering.

"I'm so sorry." Jungkook breaks the silence. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have left him alone." His voice is small.

Ellie still hasn't stopped searching my face. Her hands are shaking. I hold her wrists, stopping her. It's like she snaps out of a daze, lowering her head and blinking a few times. She straightens up. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Yoongi hyung sighs again. "What exactly happened?"

I lie leaves my lips before I could think about it twice. "I tripped on a rock."

A hand comes in contact with the table counter. "Quit lying, Taehyung," Jieun noona says.

Jungkook speaks up. "Tae had asked me to come with him to get Carmele noona's stuff from Joshua and Vernon's place."

Jieun noona's head snaps to him. "What?"

He looks at her once before bending his head again. "When we got there I wanted to check out the gym, so I told him I'd be back right before we needed to head out. When I get back, Vernon and him are in a fight and Joshua's trying to separate them."

Yoongi hyung curses under his breath.

My eyes meet Ellie's worried ones. "What happened, Tae?"

I bite my lip and instantly regret it. It's probably still swollen and bleeding from earlier. I look back at Ellie to see her frowning at me. "I never thought I'd see you bloodied like this." Her voice is quiet, almost sad.

"I'm sorry, Ellie."

"We don't know why you're sorry, so explain." Jieun noona says sternly.

I drag a shaky hand through my hair. I close my eyes and brace for whatever was going to be there reaction as I open my mouth to tell the truth, "I told Joshua everything. I'm so sorry. It just—I was so angry at Vernon. As soon as he opened the door, I saw that there was something strange with him. He looked bad. He started saying shit about how I stole Ellie from Joshua and now I shattered their relationship and Joshua's completely heartbroken. He punched me. And we started fighting. He just kept blaming me and hitting me, I couldn't stop myself from hitting him back." I don't at all look at them. I keep my head angled towards the ground. "He said that he knew I was stealing Ellie away from Joshua, I would never take anything away from her against her will.  _Never_." I close my eyes with a sigh. "I told him that Ellie just didn't want to make Joshua feel guilty about loving someone else and that she was in pain too. I didn't ruin their relationship. I told him to quit blaming me for some bullshit scenario he invented in his mind." I feel hot tears ready to burst from my eyes out of guilt.

Ellie had wanted to keep it a secret. And I exposed it.

Soft, warm hands cup my stinging face.

I look up, finally, to meet Ellie's teary eyes. "Hey."

She's smiling a bit at me, but her lips are wobbling.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie. I'm so fucking sorry," I say. My voice is hoarse, as if I hadn't drank any water in ages.

She shakes her head, tears spilling down her face. "No, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let this happen to you," she sniffles, wrapping her arms gently around my waist, resting her head against my chest, careful of my injuries. I wrap my arms around her too.

"I told you. You're a fucking angel, Kim Taehyung," she laughs but I can tell she's still crying, "Thank you. Thank you."

I laugh but wince when my body hurts again.

She immediately untangles herself from me. Face serious, tears and smile gone. "Get your butt out of this suite. We're going to the hospital. I need to run some tests on you." She demands before moving out.

Yoongi hyung is smirking.

Jieun noona looks like she's near bursting with laughter.

JK is videotaping the whole thing.

"Fuck you guys," I roll my eyes.  
  


Jieun noona squeals. "Totally the wrong time for this but like— _YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE!"_

 


	34. Chapter 34

**J.JK**

 

 

"Well, I guess we won't be doing that Truth or Dare part 2 now," I shrug casually.

All of us are in the hospital right now. Bangtan and the noonas. Carmele noona had Tae hyung checked into one of the suites. She was scowling at him just 5 minutes ago when his tests' results came and showed that he has 2 broken ribs and 1 fractured rib. He had multiple colorful bruises that peppered different parts of his body but at least that can be covered by makeup. Right now though, his left cheek is swollen and red and his lip just freshly stitched up. She was ranting about how a rib could have ruptured his lungs and put his life in serious danger, he could have banged his head on the ground and bled out. Our staff were outside the room, making the important phone calls. Taetae hyung and I got an earful from Jin hyung and Namjoon hyung. Khaled himself FaceTimed us to see how Taetae hyung was doing. He almost dropped his phone when he saw Taetae's horrifying face trying to smile. Fortunately, not a word went out to the press.

"Of course not," Carmele noona huffs as she finally sits down on Taetae hyung's bed.

"I have to plan out how to get him to heal properly without letting anyone notice he even needs to heal." She rolls her eyes to which hyung smiles funnily.

He lifts his good hand to poke her cheek. "Aww~, she cares about meeee~!" She glares at him. "I do, but I'm still pissed at you. I'm supposed to be taking a vacation and here I am," she throws her hands up in frustration, "in a hospital patching up Kim Taehyung." Hyung drops his messed up boxy smile.

Khristine noona has been quiet the whole time we reexplained the turn of events over the last few hours, but she murmurs softly, "I can't believe Vern would do this."

Hobi hyung interjects, "Come on, it's not his fault he's just pent up over his breakup with—"

"—with me," Khristine noona finishes for him, face solemn. Hyung's face falls when he sees her frown. She lifts a hand to cover her face when she inhales shakily. "I'm sorry," she blurts out, taking another shaky breath as she cries into her hand.

Hobi hyung moves to comfort her but Jieun noona holds up a hand to stop him and goes to soothe her herself. "I—I just couldn't—couldn't stay in that rela—relationship," she cries, "It was all too much. Vern wouldn't let me _do_ anything." She lifts her head from her hands and I almost cry myself when I see her eyes overflowing with tears and sadness. "It-It was suffocating me. It felt like I was—like I was trapped in a glass cage."

"He'll get over it soon enough, Khris," Jieun noona whispers, stroking her curly hair gently. She wipes her face with a hand, "He will, but not for a long time. I know he loved me at first but then it just became some—something else entirely. It was almost like—"

"—obsession." Yoongi hyung nods his head slightly as he pieces together the newfound information.

"I don—I don't know," noona sniffles, "I broke up with him because I wanted to live. I couldn't just sit and be treated like a fucking china doll. I just couldn't survive the asphyxia of it all."

"Vernon is sick." I raise my head at Carmele noona's sudden outburst.

"What?" Noona tucks her long wavy hair behind an ear before folding her arms and saying, "I think it links to some psychological disorder or illness. I think he needs to see a doctor." She concludes.

"Like a therapist?" I ask.

She nods, "Could be. There are actually even surgeries that are done to get rid of mental illnesses. But yeah, he could go and get therapy."

Khristine noona bites her lip, "And it'll help him?" Carmele noona smiles a bit, "It might just get everyone back the old cool Vernon."

She nods and faces Hobi hyung, "Hoseok, you think you can get one of your managers to talk to Vernon's company about this?" Hobi hyung brightens up at the thought of being able to help Khristine noona.

"Yeah, yeah, sure!"

The door opens and our managers come in.

"You guys good in here?" They ask. A chorus of agreement fills the cool air.

Manager hyung claps his hand once with a smile and says,

"Great, because as soon as you're done here, we're going back to Palawan in the Philippines."


	35. Chapter 35

**J.JK**

 

"Taehyungie, stop frowning," Jin hyung scowls at his frowning face, slapping a big hand over it. He grunts and squints his eyes at the glaring light and heat of the sun.

"He's just like that because Carmele isn't with us anymore," Namjoon hyung sighs and pulls Jin hyung away from the frowning Tae hyung.

It's been 2 weeks since the incident in Los Angeles. We're now aboard a yacht we rented in Palawan, Philippines, it was DJ Khaled's next activity for us. Carmele noona had to part ways with us since she  _is_  an amazing doctor who needs to save lives. The split was hard. We were all bummed that we couldn't spend more time with each other. Me and Yoongi hyung actually had to rip Jieun noona, who was sobbing uncontrollably and clinging on to her, away. Taetae hyung has been less ... himself since then. Quieter. Which doesn't happen occasionally. A bit moody too. Not really surprised, they became close so fast. He has healed I guess. His split lip is only noticeable because of a red line, stitches are gone, although, he still needs to take it easy because of his damaged ribs. Most of his bruises and swelling are fading too. Thankfully, not a word went out to press. Khristine noona is with us though. All of Bangtan, IU and Khristine noona. And some staff too.

"We've been here for 4 days, we haven't done anything other than talk, eat, sleep and eat and eat and eat and  _eat_ ," Yoongi hyung points out whilst shading his eyes from the sunlight with his hands.

Jin hyung nods and shoves a pineapple slice in his mouth, "Khaled's making us do island hopping tomorrow, let's just chill and start swimming tomorrow."

Jieun noona dumps a whole bottle of water on herself, that's how hot the Philippines is in the summer. "Agreed."

"Somebody get me some ice," Khristine noona says, plopping down on one of the couches.

"Why is it so hot here, Kook?"

"I dunno, Tae. Maybe cuz I'm here?"

"I hate you."

"You love me," I wink at him.

"Does he though?" Namjoon hyung laughs. I stick my tongue out at him. "Of course he does."

"Ice, Kookie. Me and Khris need ice," Jieun noona slurs, slouching further down the couch with Khristine noona.

I shrug and raise my arms, "And I'm supposed to know where the ice is?" 

She hisses and slowly pulls down her sunglasses, her narrowed eyes making me shiver. "Are you talking back to me?"

I wince and start backing away, "No, of course not," I laugh nervously, "I'm just going to go get some ice."  
  
She just stares at me before putting her sunglasses on again.   
  
  
  


_She's terrifying._


	36. Chapter 36

**J.JK**

 

"No. I refuse to go on another banana boat," Taehyung stubbornly states, arms crossed and face turned away.

"Oh come on, just because we pushed you one time doesn't mean we'll push you again," Jiminie hyung laughs, patting his life vest.

Taetae points a damning finger at him and then at me, "Oh but you will."

I shrug at Jieun and Khrissy noona who are laughing hysterically. "It's true."

Taetae hyung points at me and whines at the manager hyungs. "Do you see how evil Kookie is? Please don't make me go," he complains, whining as he pouts.

"Okay, Tae! Fine! You won't go on the damned boat," Yoongi hyung scowls, rubbing his thumb and pointer finger against his forehead in annoyance, probably because of the heat too. Taehyung hyung looks like a kicked puppy at hyung's tone. Jin hyung sighs and rubs Tae's hunched back. "Tae, Yoongi didn't mean to snap at you, he just—" he sighs again, "—you've been very moody recently, you're always quiet except when you're whining like a baby."

Tae looks miserable. He huffs a heavy breath. "I'm sorry," he says quietly.

"Tae," I start, looking at him, "you've been very unlike yourself since we parted ways with Carmele noona. We know that two became really close. And I know you miss her. She's a doctor, Tae. She has work to do. So please, stop moping around and suck it up. You'll see her again soon and I bet you're texting every chance you can get." I point out, trying to convince him to stop being such a killjoy to everyone here.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles.

"Taehyungie~," Jieun noona says softly, leaning down on the ground with him. "I miss Carmele so much." Tae finally looks up from his hands, eyes teary. He's probably so disappointed in himself. He always feels like crap when we tell him off, he always thinks he's being the biggest burden in the world. "I miss Carmele too, Tae. I miss her but I miss  _you_ too." He heaves a shaky breath and wipes his damp eyes. "I'm sorry," he says again, voice soft.

We're all immediately moving to wrap him in our arms to comfort him. "Tae, it's okay," I say, we all know how dejected he gets when he messes up. "I'm sorry." He says again, voice strained.

"Tae, stop apologizing already!" Jimin hyung wines. "Let's ride jet-skis!"

**

"Jiminie," Yoongi hyung looks at Jimin hyung wantonly. "I swear to God if you drop me, I'll strangle you." Jimin hyung only wiggles his brows and gets on his jet-ski. "If you hold on tight enough, hyung, you won't lose me." Yoongi hyung's cheeks flare up at Jimin hyung's bold flirty statement, not bothering to answer and just getting on the jet-ski and wrapping his arms around Jiminie hyung's tiny waist. Hyung laughs evilly before speeding away into the vast ocean.

"Everyone's got sunblock, right?" Jin hyung's voice calls out over the roaring of the churning sea.

A chorus of yeses erupt from the group. "Okay, goodbye now," he yodels and revs his jet-ski and drives away speedily with a cackle. Namjoon hyung rolls his eyes at his lover and takes off as well.

"Kookie! Can I ride you?" Jieun noona says with a cheerful smile, bouncing up and down like a child. My cheeks heat up at her choice of words, I could hear Tae howling in laughter behind us. Jieun noona stops her hopping when she backtracks and realizes exactly what she just said. She just smirks instead, shooting a wink my way, almost giving me the hundredth heart attack in the past months we've been together, "I meant to say, can I ride  _with_ you, Kook." But she still has that suggestive smirk on her cherry tinted lips.

So I smirk at her too, leaning my body on a foot and a hand on my hip. "Sure, noona. I'll let you ride me." I wink at her. Her smirk fades and she chokes on air. "Sorry, I meant, I'll let you ride  _with_ me." I give her a smile that means trouble and she burns bright red. I laugh and start walking over towards my designated jet-ski, noona's footsteps on the sand trailing me from behind.

I swing my leg over the jet-ski and flick my head back to noona. I pat the space behind me. "Come on, noona, come ride me." I grin at her.

She almost kicks sand into my smirking face but she sits down behind me instead. "Hold on to my rock hard abs, noona. Don't want you falling off while you're  _riding_  me." I chuckle. She hits me hard on the side of the head. "Shut up."

I bite my lip to keep from roaring in laughter. Noona does wrap her arms around my waist, she also buries her head into my back.

I ignore the skip in my heart.

Her face is hot against my back.

She's blushing.

I'm pretty sure I'd pay a stupid amount of money to see her blushing like this.

 

**

  
**M.YG**

 

"You okay, hyung?" Jimin's laughing melodic voice floats over the roar of the jet-ski's machinery. I can feel his abdominal muscles contract as he continues to laugh at me, as I'm clutching on to him with my dear life.

He giggles when I scowl at him.

I dig my fingers into his stomach to make a point when he suddenly swerves to the right, going twice as fast as before. I could feel the wind whipping at my face, the sting of the water splashing into my face. I pinch his waist when the others' laughter and bickering starts to disappear from my auditory senses. "Minnie, we're getting too far," I warm him through clenched teeth.

He giggles again, squirming against me when I pinch him again. "Just trust me, hyung."

I rolled my eyes but regretted it instantly when sea water splashed into my face and stung my eyes. "Park Jimin," I growl.

His beautiful laughter sounds again, his body shaking against mine. "Almost there, hyung." And he goes faster—if that's even possible.

_'Almost there'? 'There' where?_

"Ah, fuck," I curse and rub my eyes when the stinging from the salt water won't dissipate.

I sigh in relief when he slows down and no more water splashes at my face. The sun has momentarily hid behind some thin clouds, but covered enough that it's rays has stopped burning my face. He stops the engine and the jet-ski slows to a stop, the sounds of the waves lapping over waves, and the wind whistling, the only sounds occupying the space in my mind. I retract my arms from Jimin's waist when he lifts himself up by those powerful thighs and turns around, facing me this time.

I squint my eyes at him. "Have you dragged us far away enough where nobody can see us so you can finally murder me and get rid of the evidence?" I cock a brow at him.

A beautifully bright smile breaks out on his beautiful face, sun-kissed and light. My heart thumps in my chest wildly.  _He's always had this effect on me_.

"Maybe I will, hyung." He laughs, a beautiful sound amidst the symphony of the vast ocean and sky.

I lean back, resting my body weight on my arms. "Maybe you'll what, Minnie?"

His smile turns into a smirk, a mischievous one at that.

"Maybe I will kill you, hyung. I'll dump your body here for the sharks to eat." He drags a hand through his hair, unaware of what doing that can do to me and my tortured soul. It drives me  _crazy_.

I look at the peaceful ocean and then divert my gaze to Jimin's crescent-like eyes. "Why'd you want to kill me? I've been nothing but nice to you." I shrug my shoulders, toeing at the water below us.

He sighs heavily, grin slipping off his lips. He stares back at me, this time more serious. A heavy silence falls between us.

"I want to kill you for making me feel this way," he says at last, eyes blinking as if he didn't believe what he just said. His words alone making my heart pick up a fast pace again.

"For making you feel what, Minnie?" I say, voice raspy.

He swallows, and breathes out again, breath laced with the pineapple we ate a while ago. He meets my gaze but he quickly looks away, as if looking at me in the eyes would make him change his mind about saying anything.

"I want to kill you for making me feel like—" he laughs weakly, dragging a hand through his wet hair again. "—like, I can't  _breathe_ ," he bites his lip and lets out a breath again. My heart stops in my chest. "Hyung," he says pointedly, as if trying to steady himself. "Jimin," I say, taking his shaking hand in mine. His breath hitches and he finally looks at me.  _He's so beautiful._ He always has been. He has always been the one with the brightest most gentle soul. It was him who brought soup into my studio when I'd lock myself in for days on end. He smiled to make me smile. I had always pushed these feelings away to the farthest part of me because I wanted to put our team first. I didn't want us to drift apart when something went wrong. I pushed away all my feelings because I didn't want to get hurt. I pushed him away because I didn't want to hurt  _him_. Not him. Never Jimin.

"Minnie," I say firmly, "you can tell me."

He blinks, shocked. "You make me feel like I'm underwater, and I'm drowning," he breathes, voice barely a whisper as he continues to look at me like he's trying to decipher my entirety. "You make me high so fast, and you drop me so low. I can't—" he shakes his head, blinking again. "You make me feel like I want to throw up every time I see you. You make me feel like I'm being tortured. I want to kill you hyung, because you keep killing me everyday since I met you." He says, anger flashing in his eyes. "You've been killing me and I've been letting you. You deserve to pay for that."

He looks away again but I quickly grasp his sharp chin in my fingers, forcing him to look at me. "Is that all you feel for me, Minnie?" I manage to ask him without caving in and taking him right then and there.

He blinks in surprise again. "You make me feel warm, hyung. You make me feel like I'm about to melt into a warm puddle on the ground. You make me feel like the ground is about to swallow me up whole," his hand rests on my thigh. "You make me yearn to be in your embrace. You make me feel hurt, like all the time," he glares at me, making a small smile split across my own lips. "You make me want to run my hands through your hair," the hand on my thigh clenches. "You send me signals and turn me away," hurt flashes across his eyes, "it makes me feel angry and hurt. You make me feel happy though, incandescently. All the time. I want to kill you." He says.

"Why?"

He sighs. "I want to kill you because I've fallen in love with you and you've made me wait so long that it hurts now."

My chest tightens at his daring declaration.

So, I move forward and pull his face forward by the chin. His eyes widen a fraction when he sees me move closer to him. His eyes flit between my eyes and my lips. It makes me smile.  _God, he's cute._

"I'm sorry I've made you wait so long, Jiminie," I say finally.

A noise sounds from the back of his throat.

I smile again before capturing his lips in mine.

I feel him tense up and relax against my body. His lips are so, so soft. His lips were a taste I'd never thought I'd have enough of. So addictive. So passionate. The intensity of it blurring out the rest of the world. Hands were in my hair, tugging and pulling and mine were tightly wrapped around his small waist, squeezing him against me as if I'm afraid he'd disappear. I kiss him harder, deeper, and more passionately as I remember all the years I've pushed my feelings to the side, all the years I pushed _him_ aside. I feel him against me. All of him. I can smell the sweet smell of the shampoo he steals from Taehyung. I can feel the softness of his cheeks against my own. It was suffocating, the urgency, the feverish need, the passion, the want and the love. Park Jimin was my salvation, my dream, and he was mine now.

Minutes passed, hours, days—oh I don't fucking know. It could be eons before we finally parted, panting.

The scenery before me was one I wished would never leave my memory. His hair was tousled, lips swollen and red, face flushed, eyes wide and wild.

"Remind me, why we didn't do that earlier," I grumble, another wave of desire slams into my body when his tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip.

His head tips back and he laughs loudly. He smacks me on the arm and moves away from me, turning around to face the front of the jet-ski, turning it on again. Time to go back.

 

"Hyung, you better shut up or I'm really going to kill you and dump your body here."


	37. Chapter 37

**J.JK**

 

"Fucking finally!" Taehyungie hyung screams, face contorted into an expression that yelled  _'I thought it'd never happen, Jesus Christ'._ Jiminie hyung just rolls his eyes and covers his flushed face behind Yoongi hyung's shoulder. Yoongi hyung doesn't even bother to say anything, he just keeps smiling like he can't stop.

"Jesus, fuck, look at their faces," Namjoon hyung points a damning finger at their dreamy faces. He crosses his arms over his chest and sighs, "They're so mushy and gooey already." He shakes his head at the new couple. "Next thing we know, Yoongi hyung will be giving me lyrics all filled with sappy love."

Yoongi hyung finally says something but still doesn't stop smiling, "Shut up, Joon. Like you haven't given me lyrics all about hyung's face." At that, Namjoon hyung turns beetroot.

Jieun noona squeals. "Don't mind them, Yoongles! Oh my god! I'm so happy for you!" She charges straight towards them and slings her arms around both of them, legs around their hips in a vice-like grip. They both laugh and hug her back. I couldn't help but laugh too when they stagger forward as they try to support her weight. "Get some Jibooty, hyung!" I scream and jump at them too, we all topple to the ground in a heap of giggles and laughter.

 

**

 

"What're we doing now?" Taetae hyung asks, taking a long swig of his Sprite before sitting down right on top of the sand castle Jiminie hyung just spent 48 minutes on perfecting. He looks at Taetae hyung with wide disbelieving eyes, mouth falling open and eyebrows creasing together. My mouth falls open in shock as well, my eyes meet Khristine noona's and she has the same expression as well. Taetae looks at us confusedly before looking at what exactly he was sitting on and then turns white in awe when he realizes he has sat on hyung's perfect sandcastle and not on the sand chair he created beside it.

"Oh, shit," Yoongi hyung curses when he sees Jiminie hyung's fists clench in the sand.

I immediately scream. "TAETAE! CLOSE YOUR DAMNED EYES AND MOUTH!!"

His eyes close shut immediately but his mouth wasn't saved from the onslaught of sand thrown by a very  _very_ angry Park Jimin. He chokes on the sand, coughing harshly with a tanned hand at the base of his throat. Hyung looks like he's about to launch at Tae but Hobi hyung manages to get a hold of him before he murdered Taehyung. "Chimmy! You gotta chill! Taehyung didn't mean it!" Jieun noona tries to say worriedly, but failing to keep from giggling.

"Noona, you're not helping!" Taehyung says in between heavy coughs.

I look to Joon hyung who's head is resting on Jin hyung's lap. "He's not gonna choke to death, right?" I ask him a bit worried, I mean, he is the genius. Taetae's eyes widen dramatically at the question I threw Joon hyung. "Wha—what?!" He panics, choking as he tries to spit out the sand now lodged into his throat.

"Let him choke to death!" Jimin hyung roars, kicking the sand. Yoongi hyung helps Hobi hyung in holding back the very  _very_ dangerous Park Jimin.

"Oh, calm down you, big baby," Jin hyung rolls his eyes, stroking Joonie hyung's hair. "You're not dying today. You just need to cough out the sand." He sighs, pursing his lips.

Khrissy noona has poured water in a glass and is holding it out for the dying Tae. "Here, gargle some." He coughs appreciatively and take the glass, he almost chokes on the water but he manages to get a big gulp of water in and gargles it. He almost chokes a again. He spits it out, clearing his throat, eyes rimmed with dampness. Jimin hyung glares at him when he sees that Tae is no longer choking to death. Yoongi hyung does  _the sweetest_ thing I've ever seen him do. He he wraps his arms around Jimin hyung's waist and he pecks him softly on the cheek. The anger immediately leaks from his tense body and his cheeks flare up. "H-hyung," he squeaks, eyes wide as he stares into Yoongi hyung's amused face. "Get some ice cream with me, Jiminie," he purrs, nuzzling his nose against the crook in hyung's neck. He splutters, "O-okay." Yoongi hyung chuckles before whisking the red Jimin hyung away.

"You good, hyung?" I laughingly ask when I see Taetae still sprawled across the sand, panting and rubbing the tears away from his eyes.

He nods, sighing but coughing.

"Kookie," Jieun noona drawls, walking over to me. My breath hitches when I see her. A beautiful vision. The lapels of her dress were whooshing softly with the wind and the scarf that she tied around her pony tail was floating around her like some halo. She had a pretty smile on her face. She pads across the sand and sits right on my lap.  _Ah, shit._

"Kookie~" She cuddles into me the back of her head resting against my chest. She pulls on my arms and puts them around her slim slender waist. I try to control the rapid beating of my heart. My breaths come in shallow as I watch her beautiful eyes flutter shut. She starts to sing Euphoria. Her voice is heavenly, I debated then and there if I should shove her into a studio and make her do a cover of my song so I could put it on repeat every time I thought about her. Her voice is smooth, like honey and milk, but powerful and strong. Very stable. "Sing with me, Kookie. I love to hear you," she giggles, drawing small circles on my arm with a finger. "Noona, I'm only doing this because you're cute." I chuckle before singing where she left off. Immediately, as if it were nature, she falls into my rhythm, harmonizing with me. We stay like that for a while, singing Scenery after my song, making Taehyung whip out his phone to take a video of us. Jin hyung joins us gleefully when we start singing his song.

My voice gets caught in my throat when noona wiggles her hips. I try to keep my young mind away from the gutter and trashy filth but it's just not happening. "Okay, noona, it's time to get off. My legs are losing blood." I laugh nervously, unwrapping my arms from her. She's quick to latch her nails into the skin of my arms, she hisses without opening her eyes, "I'm not moving, Kookie. Your lap is comfortable." She wiggles her hips again and I stifle a groan. "Come on, noona. Do you want me to lose my legs?" I try not to sound too pleading, but if she didn't get off me right now, Jeon Jr. would start bugging her soon enough.

"Come on, noona," Taetae hyung chuckles, pulling her up by the hands. She groans in annoyance, but gets off. I mouth a 'thank you' to Tae for saving me. Noona pouts her cherry tinted lips and sags on the seat beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder. "I was so comfortable already! Ugh, the couch is hard," she whines hugging my arm.

Hobi hyung laughs, pointing at me with a teasing finger. "If you hadn't moved, Jeon Jungkook Junior would've woken up." He laughs harder when I glare at him in disbelief.

Instead of being scandalized like a normal person, noona turns to me with questioning eyes. "You call your disco stick, Jeon Jungkook Junior?" She cocks a groomed brow.

I feel blood rush to my cheeks and the tips of my ears. "So, what?"

She smirks devilishly and looks down at my lap.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your peaceful slumber, Jungkookie Junior." She coos, making me feel hot all over and everyone else erupt in loud laughter.

"Maybe next time we'll have some fun together," she grins, winking at me. My heart stops dead in my chest and all the blood starts rushing to a different place. Hobi hyung is on the ground with Taetae, howling with laughter like a couple of maniacs, Jin hyung is smacking Joon hyung as he laughs squeakily. "Jesus Christ, Jieun~ah, we need to get some holy water for you," Khris noona wheezes, doubling over.  
  


They are all on the ground laughing when I launch myself into the cold pool.

 


	38. Chapter 38

**J.JK**

 

"Hey," I say, sitting down next to her on the sand, burying my glass of pineapple juice into the sand so it wouldn't spill. "Aren't you going to join us? They're playing beer pong. Except there's no beer and there's only juice." I laugh, looking to noona who's staring out into the sea and the dark starry night. I see a smile split across her beautiful face. "Maybe later, Kookie," she sighs heavily, "I wanna sit down and think a bit."

I bite my lip before nodding and taking my glass. "Alright then, I'll see you later, noona." I try to stand up but a soft hand clutches my wrist. I turn back to look at her. She looks at me with eyes that were filled with so much sincerity, so thick with emotion.  _What was she thinking about?_ "Noona?"

"Please stay with me, Kook." It feels as if she's looking into my soul, and I feel myself getting pulled towards her. A soft breeze brushes through her hair and she bites her bottom lip before tucking the stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Always," the word pulls itself out of my mouth and I sit back down. She smiles softly before looking out into the ocean again. The more I look at her the more I realize that she has such soft features, the smooth slope of her small pointy nose and her flawless skin that I realized I so desperately wanted to touch. Be it my hands, the skin of my own cheeks, my lips. She was exquisite. I watched as her eyelids blinked open and shut, pretty lashes brushing against the fragile skin beneath her eyes. Her lips were plush and so soft looking, I licked my lips. Everything about her was so inviting, she was pulling me in, making me fall over and over again; deeper and deeper and she was never going to see me that way. All the playful banter and flirting between us was never going to lead anywhere because I am no match for her. I balled my hands into the sand. It's impossible for me to even think there is a person out there who is good enough for her. Every single part of me longed to be with her, I deducted, I wanted to see her smile and laugh, I longed to  _be_ the one who always made her smile and laugh. I wanted to hold her close in the night, bury my head in her hair and stroke her hair until she fell asleep. I wouldn't mind facing her wrath here and then, she had thrown a can of soda at me 5 weeks ago because I ate the last donut in the box, the memory made me smile. My eyes flitted back to her lips, I wanted to kiss her silly, call her mine and be hers. I drew in a heavy breath when a pang of pain burst through my chest, I lifted a hand to rub the ache in my chest. I could never be with her. It hurt every time I realized there could never be an 'us'. I couldn't be the one she called hers, the one who she kissed in front of others, the one she cried away her sorrows to, I could never be the one she loved like that. But I could be her friend. If that was the only way to see her smile and laugh, I could withstand the pain. When she'd find someone, I'd take it. I'd handle all of her because I couldn't imagine my life without her. I clenched my fist in the sand.

"Holy fuck," I cursed quietly under my breath.

I am irremediably and irrevocably in love with Lee Jieun.

"Is everything okay, Kookie?"

I swallow the lump in my throat and I make myself smile. "Yeah, noona. Why wouldn't I be?"

She shook her head and smiled, looking back out to the scenery before us and gently leaning her head against my shoulder. I inhaled deeply, the faint aroma of her Vanilla scented shampoo wafting into my senses. "So, noona, you want to tell me what's making you think so hard?" I ask lightheartedly. 

"I don't know, Kook," she hums, "I feel heavy, like there is a lot of stuff going on in my mind and I get so confused." She hums again, I look to see her shut her eyes and purse her lips. 

I wrap an arm around her and rub her arm comfortingly. "You want me to chase away those confusing thoughts with my muscles?" I joke, trying to lighten her mood, I lift a hand and flex my biscep. She laughs softly before answering, "If only you could, Kookie." She sighs heavily for the nth time and she leans in closer to me, tugging on my shirt as if to bring me closer to her. 

"Have you ever felt like you're stuck on the other end of a line and you badly want to cross it but you can't?" She says after a long moment of our silence filled in by the music of the sea.

I don't say anything.

She lets go of my shirt to put a hand over her heart. "I've been feeling it a lot lately." She thins her lips, closing her eyes again. "It's like I really want to do something, I want this thing, I badly want whatever it is that I want but I can't have it. Because there's some sort of invisible line that I can't cross and if I did dare to cross it, it would risk what I want, you know?" She sighs again but laughs quietly, "I'm not making any sense, I'm sorry." I hug her closer. "It's fine, noona. Just continue." I was willing to hear every single thing on her mind. She could pour herself entirely unto me and I'd be honored to accept every single raw part of her. 

She drags a finger through the sand. "It's like that with my music, you know? I write all these songs, all of these melodies, and they are all a reflection of me. Some of them are horrible, some of them are fantastic. I want to release them all but I have to put a filter on them or pick and choose which ones to show to the world," she breathes, "I want to do something, I want to put even the bad ones out but I can't. I can't because I'd be risking a lot. If my songs get bad reviews it's not only bad for me but bad for everyone whose jobs rely on my success. A lot of people pick and choose which parts to love, Kookie."  _But I wouldn't pick and choose which parts of you to love. I love all of you, every single part. From the last strand of your hair to the dainty little toes you have. From the beautiful and joyful smiles and laughter you have to the snarling evil look you have when you get mad. I love all of you. Noona, if only I could tell you._

She rubs her face. "Basically, that's what's been invading my mind. I have never wanted something like this in my life. But it's something I can never have because I can't risk destroying it. It's sad but it's life, you know?" I hear her sniffle. I just stay quiet and hold her against me. She had no idea how much I wanted to be with her. I couldn't because I can't risk destroying the relationship we have. If she only knew how much our situations were alike.

She pulls away and looks at me straight in the eyes, putting her soft warm hands on my cheeks, "Kookie, you are a person in my life I didn't know I needed until I met you." She smiles, silver lining her eyes. "Thanks for doing this, Kook. I really needed this." I just smile at her and cup her face in my hands. "Anytime, noona. I'll always be here for you."

She giggles cutely and she boops my nose. "Always?"

I roll my eyes and tackle her in a gigantic bear-like hug. She's screaming and laughing against me, trying to tickle me off of her. 

 

 

_"Always, noona."_

 

 


	39. Chapter 39

**J.JK**

 

"Attention, children!" Jin hyung's amplified voice interrupts the calm and serene swimming session everybody is having. By calm and serene, I mean completely and absolutely chaotic and wild. We all look at the slide where he is standing with a microphone and a tiny speaker. I whistle at the possibility of him just toppling down the slide and splashing into the water in a heap of limbs, wasting the perfectly good mic and speaker.

"What's it this time, hyung?" Taetae hyung asks, momentarily pausing his water splashing escapades at Hobi hyung, who is now choking and laughing hysterically. Khrissy noona rolling her eyes at him and hitting his back violently.

Hyung puts a hand on his hip and says into the mic, "I must ask you all to evacuate the pool immediately! This is an emergency!" From the corner of my eye I see the assistants scramble upwards from their seats and turn to look at the managers.

An uproar arises. Everybody is freaking out. A gentle touch on my bare shoulder tells me that Jieun noona is right beside me. "Oppa! What the hell could possibly be an emergency right now?" She yells right back at him, pursing her lips while letting her big sunglasses slide down to the tip of her nose so she can eye him. Hyung puts the mic over his mouth, "We all need to get out and pack all of our stuff! We're moving to Hawaii and the plane leaves in half an hour!" He yells loudly. "I repeat. HALF AN HOUR!"

With that, everybody is scrambling out of the pool like a tsunami is about to hit.

 

**

 

"Wow, more sun. Amazing," Yoongi hyung says grimly, putting on his sunglasses and whipping out some sunscreen.

"Oh don't be such a whiney baby, hyungie," Jiminie hyung teases, poking hyung's cheek. He shoves his sunglasses up into the hair and stares at Jiminie hyung with daring eyes. "Baby," he purrs, "we'll see who'll really whine tonight," he says, brushing his lips against the tip of Jiminie hyung's reddening nose.

"Yah!" Jieun noona arrives and smacks their display of affection with a fan. "Keep the rated 18 in the bedroom, guys." She sighs through her nose and looks to Yoongi hyung, "Oppa, I trust that you can keep your unbearable cheesiness inside for at least the rest of the afternoon?" Yoongi hyung rolls his eyes. "Of course I can." She watches as Yoongi hyung and Jimin hyung walk away with their hands intertwined.

She sighs again. "I wish I had someone to call baby," she pouts, kicking the sand with her sandalled foot. My face turns red at the thought of her calling me baby. It makes me sweat and so I wipe the sweat beading at my brow and let out a low whistle.

"I have some friends who'd love to meet you, noona," RM hyung says with a smile, lugging along his huge carry-on case. "Jieun~ah, my friends are hotter," Jin hyung says, sliding a bag around RM hyung's neck. He grunts as he struggles to carry all of the bags he's holding on to.

"Really?!" Jieun noona's eyes turn big and puppy-like at the both of them and she immediately clings to their side, yapping on and on about what type of dudes she's into. As they start moving away I slump to the ground. That stings. It really stings. Now noona is going to start dating someone else and I have no plans letting her out of my life, so I'm going to have to watch her date other people while I stay miserable loving her silently.  Not also that, RM hyung, who I consider my brother literally just helped her look for a boyfriend when he knows I am fucking head over heals for her. I groan miserably and drag my hands through my hair, tugging at the long strands.

"It's okay, Kook. It'll get better," Taetae suddenly arrives and sits down next to me, slinging an arm around my neck and offering me his bottle of soju. I don't questions why he even has a bottle of soju so early in the afternoon and even if we literally just arrived from the airport. I shake my head, sniffling, and take the bottle; downing it in one go.

 

**

  
**K.SJ**

 

"Joon, why'd you do that earlier?" I decide to ask, snugging into his warm chest and drawing small circles over his flat stomach.

"Did what, hyung?" He mumbles, running his hands through my hair even though he's borderline asleep.

I sigh and wrap my other arm around his waist tightly. "Jungkook," I start to say. He immediately sits up making me pout. He finds a comfortable position sitting down and then he opens his arms for me, beckoning me to a load of cuddles while we start talking. "I assume you're going to ask why I suggested some of my friends to Jieun noona? Don't forget, babe, you said your friends were hotter," he flicks my nose, laughing.

I glare at him. "I only said that to go along with you, I think Kookie's hurt that you did that. We all know he's whipped for Jieun." I huff.

He sighs and pecks me softly on the lips before getting off the bed. "Where are you going?"

He walks over to the table and grabs his phone, waving it up for me. I stay quiet as he taps away on his phone before setting it down and coming back to me. "JK is coming." I immediately sit up straighter. "What?" Joonie shrugs and smiles at me, flashing his dimples. In any other case I'd definitely kiss him silly, his dimples were my weakness, they are illegal. But now, I throw a pillow in his face. "Joonie! I'm still in my underwear!" I quickly topple off the bed to find my pyjama pants. I hiss at him when he just laughs at me. "Joone, where's my shirt?" He just shakes his head and throws me a random shirt. I put it on anyway, now wasn't the time to be picky. JK was about to arrive and I looked completely indecent, not a sight a little brother should see. 

I run to the mirror and fix my hair up. "For God's sake, Joonie! Put on a shirt already!" I splash some water on my face, glaring at his still laughing figure through the figure. I grab some tissues and plop down the couch and mould myself into a "chill" position. He just finishes putting his shirt on the door creaks open to reveal two messy and curly heads peep in.

"Kookie, Taehyungie, come inside," Namjoon says, sitting down next to me on the couch.

Kookie immediately comes in with Tae, looking at the bed and then choosing not to sit on it. They sit on the two couches on our right side. "Do you really expect us to believe you guys were chilling on this couch the whole time when your bed looks like a hurricane went through it?" Taehyung cocks an amused brow.

My face burns and I slap a hand over my forehead. "I don't know why I even try." I mumble.

Joonie just laughs, rubbing a hand on my thigh comfortingly. "Jungkook, you're probably wondering why I did what I did earlier?" He says.

Jungkook sighs and just sinks lower into his seat. I frown at him, poor kid. Namjoon was practically his idol and his big brother. He probably felt hurt.

"Kook," Namjoon starts, shifting beside me, "I did that because I wanted you to make a damn effort to make a move! She can't wait for you forever," he shrugs, folding his arms together. Okay, well. That's a good point. By doing what he did, Jungkook could stand up and make a move before Jieun could find herself a new boyfriend.

Taehyung opens his mouth but closes it, pondering for a moment, then shaking his head. "Okay, yeah. I see the point in what you did." He clasps a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. But he only sinks even lower into his seat, face blanche.

"I don't think I'd even make a move, hyung," he says softly, rubbing a hand against his smushed up face. "What do you mean, Kook?" I ask.

He sighs again, closing his eyes for a bit. "I was just thinking of letting her be, you know? Like if she'll like someone, I'll just be there for her." He bites his lip. "You know, as a friend. That's all I can ever be for her."

"But why? Why can't you just try with her? Kook, just try. You have a chance and you'll regret it in the future if you'll just let it pass you by like this!" Namjoon says before standing upright.

He rubs his temples and braces his elbows on his knees, putting his face between his hands. "I can't risk what we have, hyung. What if she won't like me in the end? If I even do try to show her how much I love her, what if she won't see me that way? Things won't be able to go back to the way things used to be if I go down that path," he states, voice low and soft. "I can't bear to lose her, hyung.  _I can't_."

My chest ached at his words and I so desperately wanted to hold him against me and tell him everything was going to be alright, just like I used to when he was only 15 and we were trainees, unsure about everything we were doing.

"Kook, stop with the what ifs. It's Jieun we're talking about here. I think she likes you." Namjoon tries to say comfortingly but Jungkook is having none of it. "Would you cut it out? It's never going to happen okay? She isn't ever going to love me back!" His breath hitches at the last part of his sentence, shoulders heaving from his rapid breathing.

"Kookie, why can't you believe that she can love you?" I dare to ask again, voice as soft and gentle as I could manage.

He looks up from his hands and I see the tears flowing down his cheeks. He no longer looks like a little boy. He doesn't look small like that 15 year old I met all those years ago. He's grown. He's big and he's strong, he's a man now. But even grown men cry.

"Why can't you believe that she can love you the way you love her?" I ask again.

"What's there to love?" He breathes out shakily, emotion thick in his voice.

Tears prick my eyes and I feel Namjoon hold me against him. Taehyung has Jungkook in his warm embrace quickly, rubbing soothing circles across his back. I stand and kneel in from of him. Holding his hands in mine.

"Jungkook," I start to say. But he doesn't look at me. "Kookie, look at me." And this time he does, and the sadness in his eyes hurts me more than words can express. "Kookie, I love you. Namjoon loves you. Taehyung loves you. The rest of Bangtan loves you. Our families. Our staff love you. ARMY loves you. We have a lot of friends who love us, Kook. You've bedazzled the whole world. You are completely lovable. I love you like you're my brother. No, you are my brother. You are the brightest, most talented, kind and passionate person I know. And I love you. We all love you. So don't think for a split second that you are not worthy of love because you deserve the whole universe, Kookie. Don't deny yourself love." I say, trying to fight the tremble in my lips. He sniffles but smiles and nods.

"I love you too. And I probably shouldn't have said that since we launched a campaign about loving yourself," he chuckles and wipes at his nose.

"Right," Namjoon rolls his eyes and hugs him tightly. "I know you're having a hard time. But guess what, Jieun isn't like other girls. If she can't love you like that, she'll tell you without exiting your life forever. She values your existence too much." He assures him, ruffling his hair.

He nods and smiles, leaning into our group hug.

The door slams wide open. "I heard there was a group hug happening in here! Let me at it!" Hobi screams and launches himself at us. Yoongi and Jimin hyung join in.

 

And for the rest of the night, it's just us 7. Sharing laughs and talking the night away.

 


End file.
